Reposession
by Dengirl
Summary: A rift in the Vortex throws the Doctor back to Earth, and ten months into the past, setting in motion a meeting with old friends and a not so old enemy.


**Chapter One**

The sentry stamped his feet; he hated night duty, even more so when it was ten below. His unit had been stationed at this isolated base, and he was counting the days till they were posted to warmer climes.

He stopped when he thought he heard something shuffling in the dark. He shook his head, and resumed stamping his feet.

He stopped again, when he caught something flashing by, just in the corner of his eye.

"What the...?" he said, and then something chittered out in the snow and dark.

The sentry started walking forward, and the chittering was replaced by scuttling. The sentry steeped out of the safety of the light.

The scuttling stopped, and was replaced by a hiss, and then by a scream, which was carried away by the wind.

Minutes later, figures emerged from the snow, at a run. Two figures followed seconds later, and stopped just outside the gate.

"Find it, find the serum, leave no witnesses" one figure said.

The other figure saluted, and ran after the others.

The remaining figure adjusted his coat, pulling at the sleeve of his clothes underneath. He looked in disgust at the blood on his sleeve, and he wondered sometimes, why he ever wore a white coat.

* * *

The Doctor was running, yet again, another baying mob behind him. He hadn't meant to insult His Royal Whatisname, he really hadn't, but his mouth had run ahead of his brain, again.

He wished Donna had...no Donna wasn't with him anymore, no-one to stop him running his mouth.

He sped along the street, rounded the corner at speed, and saw the reassuring bulk of the TARDIS. He slowed a little, and snapped his fingers, flew through the open door, slamming it behind him.

He threw his long coat over one of the struts, and started circling the console.

"That's one more planet to cross off my holiday list," he said, and watched the central column begin its cycle, and relaxed on the pilot's chair.

He used to love the running, but it didn't feel the same, not without someone to share the rush of adrenalin. Sometimes, he missed having someone with him, and his mind wandered, memories of adventures past.

He blinked, and chided himself for living in the past. "Don't get sentimental, you old fool. I don't need anyone," he said aloud, and went to stand up.

The TARDIS suddenly lurched, and he had to grab hold of the console. Just as he righted himself, the TARDIS lurched again, and an alarm rang out.

He pulled himself round the console, and looked at the screen, as the TARDIS lurched once more. He looked at the swirls that flickered on the screen.

"No, no, no, that's impossible!" and the TARDIS lurched again, and this time the Doctor lost his grip on the console.

He staggered back, caught his heel on something, and as he fell backwards, his head caught one of the coral struts, and he landed with a boneless thud on the grating.

The TARDIS continued lurching, unable to do nothing to control itself, or help her unconscious Time Lord.

* * *

The man in the military style overcoat flattened himself against the sewer wall, ignoring the slime that squelched against his back, and underneath his feet.

He moved and spoke into his com. "Approaching the nest now, have that trap ready," he said, and stepped round the corner.

Two figures, a man and a woman stood at the end of another branch of the sewer, nervously looking down it.

"Where is he?" the man said.

"Give it time," the woman said, and then they heard it.

The man in military coat was running, coat streaming out behind him, splashing through god knows what. He really didn't have the time to stop and think about that, as the thing behind him roared its anger.

He was carrying something slimy, and as he barrelled down the tunnel, he yelled into his com.

"Here it comes!" he yelled, and half- ran, and half-skidded round the corner, and a few seconds later, the owner of the roar lumbered round the corner.

The man in the military coat stood at the end of the sewer, and held the slimy thing over his head.

"You want this, come and get it!" he shouted, and with a roar, its owner advanced.

There was a flare of bright light, and the roar stopped, and an uneasy silence replaced it, disrupted only by the dripping of water.

The other figures stepped out into the sewer, and looked down at the slimy patch that had been a slavering alien seconds ago.

The man looked at the other figure, and scowled.

"That was way too close, what were you playing at Jack?" he said.

The man in the military overcoat grinned broadly back at the man.

"But that's half the fun Ianto Jones, in fact, it was just fun."

* * *

Jack Harkness dumped the slimy object in the incinerator, and returned to the central hub, and to the mass of paperwork sitting on his desk.

He ignored the look that Ianto gave him, that 'just because you're immortal, doesn't mean you have to give us heart attacks' look.

He closed the door of his office, and sighed as he sat down, god, he hated paperwork. He was, and would always be a man of action, just like another person he knew.

He sat back in his chair, thinking of that certain person, wondering what he was doing, where or when he was.

He sighed, and pulled himself upright, and with a look of resignation, picked up the first file.

* * *

The park was closed at this time of night, only the wildlife roamed the grounds.

The peace of the of the greenery was suddenly broken, by what sounded like laboured engines, and a shape began to materialise, then wavered faded, and then began to solidify, a loud thump hailing its arrival.

A blue wooden box settled, and seemed to shudder, and was then silent, no light or sound, and the park returned to silence.

* * *

The figure ran along the corridor, knowing that the news he carried would please his employer.

He stopped outside an office door, straightened his lab coat and tie, and knocked on the door.

"Come," a voice said, and the figure entered.

"What is it?" the figure sitting at the desk said.

"Sir, you are not going to believe this, but he's back. Project Alpha, he's back."

The man looked up, and a smile crossed his face.

"When, and where?"

"We picked up the signature of his ship about an hour ago. It's in Cardiff sir."

The man put his pen down, and stood up.

"Excellent, then let's not delay," he said, and reached for his white coat.

**Chapter Two**

It felt very much like someone had left a radio on, but hadn't tuned it in, like so much white noise, and it was in his head. With a groan, the Doctor opened his eyes, expecting the light of the TARDIS to hurt his eyes, but it was dark.

He eyes widened in alarm, and he shot up, regretting the move instantly, as pain shot through his head. He ignored the pain, the TARDIS shouldn't be dark....unless.

He scrambled up, and felt his way down the ramp, and opened the door. He stepped out, and into what looked like a park.

It was night, wherever or whenever he was, and there was a chill in the air. So, he knew it was winter, and it felt like Earth, but..... He sniffed the air, and crouched down, touching the ground.

"Well, it feels like the right Earth," he said. He closed his eyes and stopped breathing for a moment. He wasn't in the present, but he wasn't in the past, well ten months, give or take.

He straightened and turned back to the TARDIS, and placed a hand on the wooden side. He could still feel the hum of power, albeit weak, it would take time for her to recover.

Sorry, old girl, take all the time you need," he said, and felt her rumble under his hand.

He turned away, and began walking across the grass, hoping to find a clue as to where he was. He walked until he came to a set of padlocked wrought iron gates, there was a sign, and the Doctor sighed.

"Cardiff, why I am not surprised," he said, and began to climb the gates.

He'd only made it halfway, when he felt the pain in his head again, and he felt dizzy. Maybe he'd hit his head harder than he thought. He felt himself falling, but couldn't keep his grip on the gate, and by the time he met the ground with a heavy thump, he was already unconscious.

* * *

Ianto was busy monitoring the emergency bands, nothing unusual. He was about to switch off, when he heard something.

*******************

Jack looked up as Ianto burst into his office. He scowled at the interruption, but then realised, it must be something urgent, for him to burst in.

"Jack, we need to get to University Hospital...now!"

"What! Why!?"

Ianto said two words, and Jack was already out of the door.

* * *

A sudden jolt brought the Doctor round. He felt more than saw the mask over his face, and he panicked. He tried to reach for the mask, but a hand appeared, stopping him.

"No sir, you need to leave that on," a voice said.

The Doctor shook his head; he didn't need oxygen, thank you, although he did feel woozy. He suddenly felt that pain again, and his world turned red.

****************

The black range rover pulled up to the iron gates, the blue lights of the police vehicle flashing on its windscreen.

"It seems we're a little tardy," the sole passenger said.

"I'll find out sir," the driver said, and got out of the car.

He returned a few moments later. "He was here, but he's been taken to university Hospital, some sort of head injury. If we hurry, we might get there before him."

"No need, I have someone else who can," the passenger said, and took out his mobile.

* * *

The black SUV screeched to a halt outside the hospital, and three figures piled out, and strode into the hospital.

The lead figure flashed his ID at the security man, who pointed to his right.

****************

Jack was virtually running down the corridor, ignoring the disapproving looks from staff and members of the public alike. Ianto and Gwen were moving more carefully, but still hurried down the corridor after Jack.

A&E was busy, and Jack had to slow down, aware that this was a stressful place. He looked round, and located reception, and approached the busy desk. He was about to interrupt, when someone tugged on his sleeve.

It was Gwen. "Jack, this way," she said, and pulled him away from the desk.

She stopped in front of a large white board, which Ianto was studying.

It looked like a jumble of names, but Ianto pointed a something. "Look Jack, cubicle seven, the only John Doe."

Jack was off before either Gwen or Ianto could say anything. He looked at the number written on small white boards, and then he came to number seven. He was about to pull the curtain back, when a voice came from behind him. "Can I help you?"

Jack turned, and found a doctor looking sternly at him.

He was about to open his mouth, when Ianto and Gwen caught up with him.

"I hope so, the patient in this cubicle?" Ianto asked.

"Are you family?" the doctor said.

"Yes," Gwen suddenly said. "He's my husband, John Smith, my name is Gwen Smith." She pulled out a tissue, and dabbed at her eyes. "Is he okay?"

The doctor looked at Gwen. "Perhaps you can describe your husband Mrs Smith?"

Gwen sniffed, holding back tears. "Well, some people think he's too skinny, but I like it. He's got brown hair and eyes, lovely eyes..."

"And what was your husband wearing?"

Gwen sniffed, and wiped her eyes. "Oh dear, I hope he wasn't wearing that brown pinstripe thing."

The doctor smiled. "I'm sorry Mrs Smith, but we have to be sure?"

"Can we see him?" she said.

"Oh, he's not here, he was transferred to Acute Assessment, about ten minutes ago. He had an epileptic fit on the way in, probably from the blow to his head, unless he is of course an epileptic?"

Gwen blinked. No, never, is he okay?"

"They can tell you more on the ward. Turn left out of here, down the corridor, the entrance is the third door on the right."

"Thank you," Jack said.

"Oh, you may bump into the two detective, they may wish to talk to you."

"Detectives?" Ianto said.

"Sorry, standard procedure, we inform the police when we get a John Doe with head injuries, nothing to worry about," the doctor said, and walked off.

Jack looked at the others, and left A&E at a run.

* * *

"Is it him?"

The two 'detectives' looked at the man in the bed.

One of them took out a small device, and pressed a button. A hologram appeared, and the man looked at it, then at the man in the bed.

"That's him, bring the wheelchair," he said, putting the device away.

The other man nodded, and walked over to the nurse's station. "Can I borrow this?" he asked, and took the wheelchair, and wheeled it back to the bed.

They lifted the man out of the bed, and into the chair.

They both looked round, when they heard the sound of someone running. They quickened their pace, and went out the exit door.

****************

Jack burst into the ward, went straight past the nurse's station, and walked down the row of beds. All were occupied, except for one, which looked like it had been recently vacated.

"Jack!" he heard Gwen call, and turned round.

"The nurses!" she said.

He walked back, and saw the nurses for the first time. Although they were sitting in their chairs, their eyes were dulled by death.

"Dammit," Jack said, and was off again, running out of the exit door, and into an empty corridor.

He looked around in frustration, then he heard it, the sound of wheel on floor, and he was off again, drawing his weapon as he went.

******************

The two 'detectives' wheeled the patient along the next corridor. They stopped when they heard the exit door to Acute Assessment open and close rapidly.

"It can't be one of the staff, it must be Torchwood, or UNIT. We can't get out, not without them seeing us," one said

"Don't worry, we can leave him. The boss has prepared for this," the other one said.

He reached into his pocket, and took out a box. Inside was a hypodermic, filled with what looked like water. Inside it floated what looked like a small microchip.

"The boss gave me this, just in case, He said, if we can't get to him, then he'll come to us," he said, putting the hypo against the patient's neck.

There was a hiss, and the fluid emptied.

"What is it?"

"Not sure, but the boss said, it would help him remember. I don't ask, so I can't tell."

The other man nodded. "Right, but we better go."

The other man put the empty hypo back in its box, and pocketed it, and they ran down the corridor, and out of the exit, leaving the still unconscious patient sitting in the wheelchair.

*******************

Jack sped along the corridor, towards the sound of the squeak, and abandoning any caution, he threw himself round the corner, weapon aimed, ready to fire.

He landed with a thud, and was greeted by an empty corridor, the faint sound of a door shutting the only sound.

Buy his attention was drawn to something poking out of a side ward. He got up, and approached carefully, tense with anger.

He whipped round the corner and stopped.

In front of him, was a man he'd only waved off a few days ago... the Doctor!

He dropped his weapon, and rushed to the Doctor, his eyes taking in his pale complexion, and the shaved part of his head, where they'd stitched his wound.

He crouched down, and gently put a hand on the Doctor's face, who stirred slightly, but showed no sign of coming round.

"Don't worry Doctor, I've got you," he said gently. "I've got you."

**Chapter Three**

Jack looked at phone, wracked with indecision, should he call, or not, it was after all, only a few days since the events in Tibet, would she want to come back?

He sighed, and picked up the phone, it rang several times, before a familiar voice answered.

"Hello," Jack said.

***************

The two men stood in front of the desk.

"We're sorry sir, we had no choice, they were too close."

The man sitting behind the desk eyed the two men. "Very well, but you did give him the injection?"

"Yes sir," one of the men said.

"Good, then all is not lost, it will just take a little longer. On your way out, please tell the Professor to come in."

The two men nodded, and left the office, just glad that their boss wasn't unhappy. They'd heard rumours about what happened if he was displeased.

The man behind the desk looked up as the Professor entered, sat down and smoothed her skirt.

"Ah professor, how goes the project?"

"We're making progress, but now subject A is going to be available, we should be able to increase output by sixty- percent, once I get my sample."

"You will get your sample, once I have the subject under control."

The Professor stood up. "I'm looking forward to meeting him."

The man looked up. "Really, I think perhaps you might change your mind, once you meet him. In fact, I think it's time to bring him home."

He took out a small silver box from a drawer. "Time to come home," he said, and flipped a switch.

* * *

Jack heard the door to the hub open, and he stepped out of his office, and hurried down the steps. He smiled broadly, when a figure stepped through the door.

"Martha Jones," he said, and moved in for a hug.

"Jack," Martha said, hugging him back, before moving back.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Busy," she said, putting her bag down. "Is he in the med-bay?"

"Yeah, he's still out," Jack said, and led Martha down to the med-bay.

He watched as Martha examined the Doctor.

"Well?" he asked, anxious for news.

"Just a minute Jack, let me do my work," she said, not unkindly.

Jack smiled briefly, and went back to watching her. "Well?" he said a minute later.

Martha looked up, checked the fluid line, and walked over to Jack.

"Aside from the head wound, and some bruising, I can't see anything else, he just need time."

"What about the fit, they said he had one in the ambulance."

"It was probably the trauma of the head injury, but I'm monitoring his brain activity, just in case."

She looked over when the monitor suddenly beeped, and the Doctor stirred.

"Now go away Jack, let me work," she said.

****************

Jack held up his hands and moved away, back up to centre of the hub. He went to stand next to Ianto, who was looking at the security tapes from the hospital.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"Ianto sat back and sighed. "Sorry, they kept their backs to the cameras. We had more luck with the plate of the vehicle they were driving. It was registered to a company called Sentax, a delivery company..." Ianto trailed off.

"Jack looked at Ianto. "And?"

He let Jack look at the information on the screen, and waited for the explosion.

Jack's face darkened, and he walked silently away and into his office.

Neither Gwen nor Ianto dared to disturb him, they knew better, and the sounds of drawer being abused, told them he was angry.

"You think they were trying to get him back?" Gwen said.

"More than likely, but I don't think they were expecting him back so soon. I've been looking at the rift; there was a massive spike, just before I heard the emergency call. I think he came here by accident."

Gwen frowned. "They won't give up, and I think Jack knows that."

* * *

Martha looked up when the monitor beeped again, and the Doctor stirred, more animatedly this time, the Doctor was definitely coming round.

She returned to her paperwork, so she didn't notice the Doctor's eyes flicker open, and a smile cross his face, that would have chilled her blood.

Martha looked round again, when the Doctor took a deep breath, and groaned. She was over in an instant, and smiled when a pair of brown eyes blinked at her.

"Hello," she said.

* * *

Jack had felt his anger boil, as he saw the name on the screen. He now sat in his office, nursing a sore foot, after kicking several drawers. Those bastards were never going to give up, it wasn't fair. He'd tried, he really had, to find the head of the serpent, but it was elusive.

But the one person he really wanted had gone to ground, wasn't anywhere. He wished he'd broken the bastards neck, under that volcano, then Tibet would never had happened, and perhaps Gen-Med would have left the Doctor alone.

But he doubted it, to Gen-Med; the Doctor was property, something to be owned. They couldn't see the unique person, the sometimes irritating but intoxicating whirlwind that was the Doctor.

Reining back his anger, he decided to go and see how the Doctor was doing.

He walked quickly down the steps to the med-bay, but found the bed was empty. He panicked, and then realised the Doctor must have come round, and being the Doctor, would have refused to stay put.

It was then that he heard the chinking of spoon on china, and he quickly made his way to the kitchen.

He sighed with relief, there was the Doctor, sniffing appreciatively at a cup of tea, with an attentive Gwen, Martha and Ianto, all watching him like hawks.

All of them, bar the Doctor, looked up when Jack cleared his throat.

None of them noticed the sly look the Doctor gave them, before his eyes flickered towards Jack, and the look changed to one of hatred.

"So, you're awake," Jack said, looking at the Doctor, who smiled back.

"Yes, sorry about that, had a little bit of trouble with the TARDIS, which reminds me, I have to get back," the Doctor said.

"No!" four voices chorused, and the Doctor blinked.

"I'm not going to keel over, if that's what you think. Tell you what, if it makes you any happier, why don't you drive me there."

No," Jack said. "I'm not letting you out of here, not until Martha gives you the all clear."

"Jack," the Doctor said, in his 'don't tell me what to do' voice.

"Sorry, no, and no arguments, you need rest," Jack said.

He was a little surprised, when the Doctor didn't argue, and took that as a sign that the Doctor did need some rest.

"That's settled then, if Martha gives the okay, we can go in the morning," Jack said, looking at the Doctor, just to make sure.

The Doctor said nothing, and Jack took that as acceptance.

"Good, tomorrow then, everybody get some rest" he said.

*****************

The Hub was quiet, only the ticking of machinery broke the silence.

Ianto woke suddenly, he heard footsteps on the stairs. He got up, and moving carefully in the shadows of the dimmed hub, he followed the footsteps, thinking maybe it might be Jack.

He saw a figure moving up the stairs.

"Jack?" he said, but the figure didn't stop.

He climbed the few remaining steps, and out into the small shop that was used as a cover for the Hub.

"Jack?" he said again, as he heard someone move in the shadows.

He let out a surprised gasp, as a hand wrapped itself round his mouth, and warm breath blew on his ear.

But the voice that whispered in his ear, made his skin crawl and hid blood freeze.

"Hello, pretty boy."

**Chapter Four**

Ianto froze, the voice he was never expecting to hear again, not out of the mouth of this person, whispered in his ear, low and husk, Ianto's heart quickened in fear.

"Why so frightened, I won't hurt you," the voice said. "Well, not too much."

Ianto tried not to flinch, when he felt something metallic against his cheek. He did flinch when he felt the bite of something on his cheek, a blade. He let out a muffled gasp, and he felt blood trickle.

"Sssh, we don't want to wake the good captain, do we?" the voice said, low and husky in tone.

The hand disappeared from his mouth, and entwined itself in his hair, and pulled his head back, exposing his throat. Ianto tensed, expecting to feel the blade against his jugular.

He felt a pain, and thought the blade had bitten, and was silently saying goodbye to Jack.

"Mmm, you still taste good," the voice said. "Shame we don't have time, and a little privacy.

Ianto winced again, as the hand pulled hard on his hair, painfully hard.

"I guess it will have to wait."

"Doctor, please," he gasped.

The hand pulled harder, and now Ianto did feel the blade against his throat. The voice spoke again, but this time the voice was sharp with anger.

"Don't call me that, he's dead, and I'm here. I have a message for the captain, tell him to watch his back. I'd tell him myself, but I have somewhere I need to be. So, it's goodbye for now, pretty boy," the voice hissed, and the blade and the hand disappeared.

Ianto didn't move, couldn't move, and after what felt like an eternity, he forced himself to move.

He walked quickly, but carefully down the darkened stairs, into the bathroom, and switched on the light.

He hissed, not at the cut on his cheek, but the bite on his neck, it was deep and bloody. He was about to run water into the basin, when there was a knock at the door.

"Ianto?" it was Jack. "Yan, are you okay?"

The handle of the door started turning, and he quickly flipped the lock and started running the water.

"Ianto?" Jack said, and the handle rattled.

Ianto heard the murmur of words, and the door handle rattled again.

"Ianto, open the door!" Jack ordered.

Ianto ignored it; he knew what would happen if he did, what it would do to Jack, all of them. He jumped, when the door splintered inwards, and Jack followed.

"Ianto, what's going on, are you alright?"

Jack fell silent when he saw what looked like a bite mark on Ianto's neck.

"Did they do this, did they take the Doctor?"

Ianto looked at Jack, his eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry Jack, it was him."

Jack's face reflected Ianto's regret, and he stepped back. "No, please, not again, it can't be," he said, his voice quiet with horror.

"No, I won't believe it," he said, louder this time, and he pushed past Gwen and Martha. "I won't believe it."

"I'll go after him," Gwen said, and went after Jack.

Martha stepped into the bathroom, and examined the bite. "Did he do this?"

Ianto nodded. "I'm sorry."

Martha sighed. "It's not your fault, we knew this could happen. I thought they gave up too easily."

"They must have got another one of those dammed control- chips into him, probably through the drip he was attached, or an injection," Ianto said, and hissed as Martha applied an antiseptic wipe.

"I'll have to stitch this, its deep. You know the Doctor would never have done this, it was him, his worse half, for want of a better word."

Ianto nodded. "I know, but Martha, look what it's done to Jack, he's devastated. I have to talk to him."

"Not until I've stitch this, let Gwen talk to him, come on," she said.

*****************

Gwen found Jack in the armoury, and took in a sharp breath. "Jack, what are you doing?"

Jack didn't turn, or look at Gwen. "Doing what I should have done."

Gwen moved closer. "Jack, you can't, he's not a rabid animal."

Jack turned then, his face set in a cold mask. "Isn't he, he damn near took a chunk out of Ianto's neck, no sane person would do that!"

Gwen put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Exactly, he's not in his right mind, not if they got to him, you know that. You know he would never do that, not ever."

Jack physically sagged, and dropped the weapon he was loading, and let out a sob.

"I can't let it happen again, I can't let him...oh Gwen, I've lost him!"

Gwen wrapped her arms around Jack, and held him tight, feeling his wracking sobs, letting him cry tears of grief. She called them tears of grief, it was like someone had died, the someone being the Doctor they knew and loved, the one that Jack loved, replaced by what she saw as all the bad traits rolled into one, uncontrolled, without conscience.

"We'll find him Jack, and if we have to keep him locked up forever, we will, but we'll find him."

Jack extricated himself from Gwen's arms.

"You're right; he won't be able to resist causing trouble. Start monitoring the police channel," he said, and ran up the steps.

*******************

The Doctor ran his tongue over his teeth, tasting the blood on them. "Yes, you still taste good Ianto Jones," he said.

He knew he had to be at the rendezvous point, but he wasn't a lap dog, he wanted some fun first, and if he couldn't have it with Ianto Jones, he would have it somewhere else.

He walked towards the city centre, drawn by the lights and the sounds of music drifting across the plaza.

**************

The club was heaving with people, the music beating out a steady thump of base. No-one really took notice of the lone male that stepped into the club, and waded through the crowd to the bar.

He sat at the bar, and watched the crowd, eyes sweeping the room, his gaze predatory.

"What can I get you?" the barman said.

"Jack Daniels, straight, no ice," the man said, without looking at the barman.

The barman frowned, why there was something about the man that he didn't like, what was it. He poured the man's drink, and placed in on the bar, and walked over to the in house phone.

"Yeah, guy in a brown pinstriped suit, tan coloured coat. He's sitting at the bar, doesn't look like the normal crowd. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him, but if he goes onto the floor."

***************

The Doctor sat at the bar, watching the mass of people, moving as one to the music. He smiled, this was going to be like shooting Gravax larvae in a tidal pool, he thought, and he moved from the bar, and into the crowd.

****************

The bouncers didn't know there was trouble, not until the screams started, not of excitement, but of fear. They piled into the club, only to be pushed back, by a tide of clubber, trying to get out.

They forced their way through the crowd, and stopped.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?!" one of the bouncers said.

In the middle of a now empty dance floor, one of the clubbers was being held by the throat by another clubber, a tall man in a long tan coat.

The tall figure turned his head, and grinned maniacally at the bouncers.

"Why, we were just having a friendly chat, weren't we," the figure said to the other man, who was struggling for breath.

"Let go of him, the police will be here in a minute," the bouncer said.

"Spoilsport, never mind, must be going," the man said, and threw the man at the bouncer, with strength that belied his slender frame.

The bouncers were caught by surprise, and went down under the thrown clubber, a tangle of limbs. By the time they'd extricated themselves, the other man was gone, and the sounds of police sirens filled the air.

*******************

Jack was about to enter the med-bay, when Gwen shouted. "Jack, he's off already, there's reports of a man fitting his description being pursued through the city centre."

Jack turned away from the med-bay, ran up the steps, adjusting his weapon as he went.

Gwen was waiting at the hub door, tranquiliser gun in hand.

"I know, but it's worth a shot, we might get close enough, the report says he's heading back this way."

Jack looked at Gwen. "Gwen, are you prepared to bring him down, I don't know whether I can."

Gwen put a hand on Jack's arm. "If I have to, I will, but only if I have to."

Without another word, they left the hub.

***************

The Doctor was enjoying himself, the adrenaline rush from the chase was intoxicating, but at the back of his mind, there was that call, to be somewhere. He was at this very moment, jumping from building to building, leading the officers a merry dance.

He stopped at the end of the building he was currently on, and looked down. He could see the massed police vehicles, he'd run out of building, well, the gap was too wide, even for him to attempt.

A spotlight dazzled his eyes, and he shielded them with his hand.

"Stay where you are, you're under arrest, officers will be there any second."

The Doctor grinned, and walked to the very edge of building. He looked left and right, and then smiled. He could see the waters of the bay, glinting in the light, and he moved to the edge.

"I said, don't move," the officer with the loud hailer said, having seen, what was quite obviously a madman move right to the waterside edge of the building.

The Doctor looked back, but his attention was caught, not by the officers that were trying to open a padlocked door, but by two familiar figures, on the building opposite.

"Harkness," he growled, and saw one of them raise a weapon.

He shook his head, and saluted the two figures, before stepping back a few paces.

There was the sound of splintering wood, as the police finally broke through the door.

"Stop, don't move!" one of them shouted, and watched in disbelief, as the man they were pursuing sprinted the short distance to the edge of the building, and executed a perfect dive into the cold waters of the bay.

There were shouts of "get the lifeboat!" and "divers!", but to no avail, as there was barely a splash, or a ripple to tell where the fugitive had dived.

****************

On the roof opposite, Jack and Gwen had watched, helpless, as the Doctor had thrown them a salute, and had dived into the bay.

Jack let out a cry that was part frustration, and part anger.....he'd got away, and god knows where he was going.

*****************

Further along the bay, a black 4x4 pulled up to a jetty, and three people got out, two were dressed in black, and carried weapons, the other stuck out like a phantom on a moonlit night, wearing a white jacket.

There was a splashing in the water at the end of the jetty, and a figure emerged from the water, and walked up to the man in the white coat.

"About time too," the man said, looking at the dripping figure in mild amusement. "I see you've had some fun," he said, nodding in the direction of the city centre, and the sounds of sirens filling the air.

The other figure grinned at him. "Well, you know what they say, all work and no play, make your average lunatic a very dull boy."

"Enough now," the man in the white coat said. "You and I have work to do."

The figure walked over to the 4x4, and as he climbed in he said. "I don't know why you wear that, white coats are so yesterday."

**Chapter Five**

Sandra Jameson nervously smoothed her jacket into place. The chemical plant spread out behind her, was constantly under siege by protesters.

She didn't blame them, but she was here to get both sides of the story. She'd already talked to the management, well tried to, her arm was still aching from the grip of the man mountain that had escorted her and her camera man off the premises.

That had raised her journalist's hackles, and she gone away, and done her research, if this was a chemical plant, she was the proverbial monkeys.

"Ready, 5,4,3,2 and go," her cameraman said.

"I'm here in Texas, just outside Austin, at the Delphus Industries newest chemical processing plant, where the protests have entered their fifth week. The protesters claim that the plant is not a chemical processing plant, but is actually a Pentagon run biological research laboratory, housing some of the world's deadliest and most virulent viruses. I spoke to the organiser of the protest, who has declined to appear on camera, and he claims that viral weapons are being made here. Of course, we cannot substantiate these claims, and Delphus Industries have declined to comment. I will however be speaking to......"

Her next words were drowned out by a massive explosion, and the night turned orange. Both her and the cameraman, along with the protestors dived to the floor, as another explosion rocked the plant.

Sandra got to her feet, just in time to see the security that had been keeping the protestors away from the main gate, run back through the gate. Gathering her wits, she said to the cameraman.

"Let's get inside, this is what we need."

She heard the frantic voice of the newscaster in her ear. "We've just witnessed what looked like two huge explosions from inside the plant. I'm trying to get inside, but there's chaos and security staff everywhere. I'm through the gates, and am now inside the compound."

The cameraman swung round, to show the confusion, and then swung back, where the fires from the explosions were backlighting Sandra.

"I'm inside the compound, and the area behind me is on fire, but there seems to be no effort to put the fires out. Wait a minute.....I can hear gunfire, this may not be an accident...more gunfire... and what sounds like another explosion."

Sandra paused, and allowed the camera to pan the carnage, and as it did, it caught movement in the flames.

Sandra gasped in horror. "Dear god... this is horrible, there appears to be a people trapped inside the fire...why isn't somebody....." she began, and then her jaw dropped in shock.

A figure walked by her, carrying a metallic case, seemingly ignoring the fire.

There were shouts from the security staff, and another explosion ripped through the building.

The figure didn't seem fazed by the explosion, and Sandra made her mind up there and then to follow the figure. She gestured for the cameraman to follow, and ran after the figure.

The figure had a good head start on her, but she could see he was wearing a long tan coat, and what looked like converses.

"Hey!" she shouted.

The figure stopped and turned, and looked directly at Sandra. She frowned, she was sure she'd seen this person, this man before.

The figure held up something, it looked metallic, dear god, a gun, and she dived to the floor, followed by the cameraman. She heard the man give a short laugh, and by the time she'd found the courage to move, the man was gone, and all that was left was the carnage he had probably caused.

Sandra looked at her cameraman. "Please tell me you got all of that?"

He nodded, still in shock himself.

"I need to see that as soon as possible, I sure I've seen that man before."

* * *

The figure walked quickly away from the plant, not looking back, not even when there was another explosion, or the wail of sirens. He walked until he reached a rise in the ground. He put the metallic container down, and took out a phone.

"I have it," he said.

"Good, without too much fuss I hope," a voice said on the other end of the phone.

The figure looked over at the orange glow, and the increasing sounds of sirens. "You could say that."

The voice sighed. "Subtlety was never your strong point, still the package is all that matters. The helicopter will be along shortly to pick you up, try to stay out of trouble till then," the voice said, and rang off.

"Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir," the figure said, with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

He looked again ant the chaos he'd left behind. "I wonder," he said, and took out his phone again.

******************

Sandra looked at the figure staring back at the camera; she was looking at a still from a security tape.

"I knew it, I thought I recognised him, he was part of that gang that robbed those research bases in Europe, and trashed Gen-Meds research labs in Africa."

The cameraman narrowed his eyes in thought. "Wasn't there a big cover up, some government agency, what was it called, Torchwood."

Sandra nodded. "You're right, make a copy of this, I know just the person to send it to."

* * *

Jack had shut himself away in his office, and was trying not to think of what he might have to do, when his computer beeped for attention.

He idly pressed the restore icon, and it flashed new mail at him. He opened the file, read the message, and opened the attached file.

He sat upright, when he saw the film roll, he took in the explosions, the fire, the gunfire and the devastation. But what took his attention was the shot of the figure staring at the camera, the way too familiar figure.

He jumped when his phone rang. "Harkness."

"Jack, so formal," the voice said.

"Doctor," Jack breathed.

"No doubt, that pretty little journalist has sent you my little display. I hope you like it, a little over the top, what do you think?"

"Doctor, what are you doing, those people, why?"

"They wouldn't give me what I was sent to get, such bad manners, don't you think. But enough of the pleasantries. Don't come after me Harkness, not if you want to keep your little team together."

There was the sound of a helicopter in the distance. "There's my ride, sorry, got to go, hoe not to see you soon Jack," the Doctor said.

"No, Doctor wait!" Jack yelled down the phone, but he line went dead.

Jack slumped back in his chair, had he just lost his last chance to help the Doctor. He knew that others wouldn't be as eager as him to save him.

He stepped out of his office.

"Ianto, call everybody, and get the jet ready, we're going to the states."

As he closed the door behind him, a feeling of dread passed over him, this wasn't going to end well, he could feel it, and he didn't know if he and his team would survive.

But worst of all, was he going to have to do the one thing he never could.... kill the Doctor,

**Chapter Six**

The helicopter landed in a whirl of grass, the sound of the blades causing the horses in the nearby paddocks scatter in sudden surprise.

The Doctor stepped out of the helicopter. "Take the box to the lab," he said to the pilot.

He gave the startled horses a cursory glance, and headed towards the ranch style four storey building. He opened the door, and the person at the desk looked up, and nodded to him.

The Doctor ignored him, and walked past what was a busy bar and restaurant. He found it amusing that the stupid apes that were staying here thought this was what they called a dude ranch.

He smiled to himself, oh, if they only knew what was beneath their feet.

He opened the door to what were superficially rooms, and headed towards what they probably thought was the service elevator, and ran a card through the swipe mechanism.

The doors opened and closed behind him after he'd stepped in, and he pushed the button marked B, and waited as the elevator moved downwards. The elevator stopped, and opened a concealed panel underneath the buttons, and pressed the single button inside.

The elevator moved again, but began descending at a faster rate, he smiled, pleased with the adjustment he'd made, no bad, if he said so himself.

The elevator stopped as fast as it had started, and the doors opened onto a long white corridor. As he walked along he glanced inside the glass windows, only mildly interested in what was going on inside, humans and their experiments, will they ever learn.

He approached the set of doors at the end of the corridor, and stopped. This was White Coats personal laboratory, and there was something about whatever was behind those doors, that made him uncomfortable. Several times he'd put a hand on the doors, willing himself to push open the doors, but at the last second his courage seemed to fail him.

He reached out a hand, nearly touching the door, but his hand started to tremble, centimetres from the door, and he pulled his hand away, and tried to settle the sick feeling that had risen in his stomach.

He backed away, and turned away, forcing himself to walk away, back towards one of the other doors. He opened and shut the door quickly, and moved to the bathroom, he ran cold water into the basin and splashed his face, trying to rid himself of the nerves, no fear of those doors.

He looked in the mirror, and saw his reflection, but not his reflection staring back at him.

How long do you think you can keep me locked away? it seemed to say, and stared back at him, with mocking eyes.

With a growl he turned away from the mirror, not wanting to see the mocking stare.

"Forever, if I have anything to do with it," he growled, and began running water into the bath and left the bathroom, into the bedroom.

He emerged a while later and went back into the bathroom, and when he looked into the mirror, the mocking reflection was gone, for now, but he knew it would be back.

It haunted him, always there, at the back of his mind, in every mirror he looked in, even if it was locked away. It was like a thorn you were unable to reach. He pushed the thought back down, and quickly bathed, and left the bathroom, returned to the bedroom, and emerged a while later, dressed in his tuxedo.

* * *

White Coat moved amongst the guests at the private party he was holding, gathered in this room were some of the most powerful and arguably the most dangerous people on planet Earth.

He heard the elevator ping, and looked round, and sighed as he saw the Doctor step from the lift. If the people already here were dangerous, than the person that had just stepped in was lethal, and if truth be told, more than a little bit insane, and he wondered how much longer he would be able to hold onto the leash of this particular force of nature.

Long enough he hoped, to get what he wanted, then he didn't care if the Time Lord laid waste to the whole planet, well, what was going to be left of it. He was still smarting from the events in Tibet and the time in Africa, and the board of directors hadn't let him forget.

Now they had put the deadline forward, be ready in three months they said, be ready or face the consequences.

He gestured to the Doctor, who looked particularly sullen as he moved through the guest, and stood opposite White Coat.

"You can at least try to be civil, these are important people, customers, and we are here to sell them our products, so smile, and keep a civil tongue in your head."

The Doctor looked at White Coat. "Why, they're really just thieves and gun runners."

White Coat shot him an angry look. "Enough, or do I have to remind you of your place?"

"No sir," the Doctor said, looking down.

"Good, now, go and set up the demonstration, we start in ten minutes."

* * *

Jack tried to settle himself in the comfortable seats of the jet, a personal luxury he'd allowed for his team. He couldn't however get the image or the words of the Doctor out of his mind, the carnage, the sheer enjoyment he'd heard in the Doctor's voice, the unsubtle threat towards himself and the others.

He didn't notice Martha sit down opposite him, not until he heard the sound of china on wood. He looked up then and noticed the large mug of coffee in front of him.

"I thought you'd like a drink," Martha said, placing her own in front of her. "Jack, what are you going to do, we have no idea where he is, or what he's going to do?"

Jack put the file down that he was reading. "But we do, Ianto pulled this report of the security waves. The NSA have just gone to Level Three, customs reported the sudden appearance of at least twenty of the world's most wanted arms and drug dealers, here in the states. They're here for something, and I don't think it's a trip to Disneyland."

"You think Gen-Med brought them here?" Martha said.

"No, they're way too smart to dirty their own hands. I think, and god I don't want to think it. I think our old friend is back, and is using the Doctor again."

Martha took in a sharp breath. "No, not him. Please not him."

Jack nodded. "I should have killed him, snapped his neck when I had the chance," he said quietly. "Now he's got the Doctor, and god knows what hell they're going to unleash."

* * *

White Coat stepped onto the small platform, and cleared his throat. "Would you kindly take your seat, ladies and gentlemen."

He waited until they were all seated, before speaking again.

"As you know, since the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan, and the growing unrest in the African continent, the security forces have been rather active in their attempts to shut down your business. It has come to myself and my financiers' attention, that your profit margins are decreasing. Well, we hope today to help you stop the downward decline. With what I am about to show you, you will find that your guns and missiles, your chemical death will become obsolete, observe."

A panel slid back from the wall, to reveal a window. Behind the window, chained to the wall, were at least twenty people, vainly struggling against their bonds.

"You may remember the theft sometime ago of a particularly nasty virus called the Reichenstien Paradyme."

"So, we know they've got a vaccine against it, it's useless as a weapon," a voice said in the semi-darkness.

"Quite so, you are correct. However, my scientists have been able to re-engineer the virus, and as you will see, it is most efficient at what it does. The subjects have been given the vaccine, and should be immune to it. Please observe."

The room watched as a man in a tuxedo stepped into the room, wearing breathing apparatus, and pulling a canister. He put the canister by the door, and slowly turned the release valve.

At first, nothing happened, and then the people began to cough, and then started to choke. Within seconds they were convulsing, and blood started to pour from eyes, noses and mouths. Eventually they stopped convulsing and were deathly still.

There was a murmur of voices, and the panel slid back across the window.

"As you can see, the vaccine is no longer effective, and the strain of the Paradyme is odourless, colourless, tasteless, and as you can see has a one-hundred percent mortality rate. If you wish further proof, there will be a small demonstration tomorrow. I suggest you watch the news channels, after which all bids will be accepted, thank you."

White Coat stepped down from the platform, just as the Doctor came back into the room.

"Are you ready, the helicopter leaves in an hour?"

"I'm ready, the canisters are being loaded now."

"Good, make sure they place them correctly for maximum dispersal."

The Doctor nodded and moved away. He glanced in the large mirror by the door, and smiled at the horrified expression on his reflections face.

In the general noise and hubbub of an understandably excited crowd, no-one noticed a figure slip into the bathroom, into one of the cubicles, and take out a phone.

"This is Red Cover to Warehouse, be advised, we have a Level Six imminent, I repeat a Level Six Imminent. The Reichenstien Scenario is active."

**Chapter Seven**

Ianto was only half listening to the communications traffic, most of it was pretty standard, well it was, until he heard one word....Reichenstien. He knew what that meant, he knew exactly who it involved, and what it involved, and his blood ran cold, someone had re-engineered the virus.

He wasn't quite sure how to put the news to Jack, but he didn't think there was an easy way, better to be straight, and deal with the storm damage later.

*******************

Jack said nothing as Ianto repeated what he had heard, he didn't get angry, nor did he show any kind of sadness. When he finally spoke, it was in a clipped tone.

"Ianto, get me UNIT HQ in New York."

* * *

"Yes, I'm well aware that the NSA doesn't like other agencies poking their nose in their business. But at this moment in time General, I don't give a rat's ass. If that stuff gets out into the population, the NSA won't have anyone to watch."

Jack cut off the General, and slammed the phone down. "Damn him, why didn't I kill you when I had the chance."

"Sir?" Ianto said quietly. "I have UNIT back on the line."

Jack sighed, nodded and picked up the phone. "Sorry about that general."

"No worries, it's understandable. I've spoken to the Secretary General, you will have the full co-operation of all agencies when you land."

"Do they know where the report came from?"

"Yes, it originated in Colorado, from a covert-op they've been running. They were trying to break up the gun running cartels, seems their inside man ran into something much bigger. That's all they would tell, you'll have to get the rest from them."

"Thank you general," Jack said.

"No problem, I hope you find him, before he has chance to..."

"I hope so, but I'm playing catch up, they have at least six hours start on us," Jack said.

"We've started putting our own protocols in place, we'll be prepared as we can be," the general said and put the phone down.

"Yeah, you do that," Jack said, knowing that if he didn't stop it, no protocol would help.

He didn't relish the thought of what he may have to do. Not killing White Coat, that would be easy. It was what he might have to do, and whether he could do it, and how it would break his heart to do it.

He let his thoughts drift, until he felt the jet start its descent, and the time for possible regrets was over.

* * *

The helicopter landed on the stretch of tarmac, and the Doctor stepped out. He walked away from it, and didn't give a second glance as it took off.

He strode over to where two men were waiting for him.

"Well, are the canisters on the move?" he said.

"Yes sir, the last one is being shipped now, the others are in the process of being positioned. They should be in position by nine hundred tomorrow morning."

"Good," the Doctor said and went to move to the waiting car.

"There's one thing sir," one of the men said, an obvious nervous tone to his voice.

The Doctor turned back, and the men flinched, as they saw the expression on the Doctor's face.

"I hope you're not going to tell me there's a problem, I don't like problems."

"I think its best we show you," one of the men said, and gestured to the hangar at the end of the tarmac strip.

******************

Light poured into the darkness of the hangar, and the person that was tied to a chair, had to screw up his eyes. He opened them slowly, and saw three silhouettes coming towards him, and he braced himself for another beating.

"We found him nosing round the warehouse, trying to get a look at the canisters. We think he's a reporter who just got lucky," one of the men said.

The Doctor stepped forward, and bent closer to the man's face. "I see you've asked him politely," he said dryly.

The man in the chair looked at the Doctor, and narrowed his blacked eyes. "I recognise you, you're on all of the most wanted lists."

The Doctor straightened, raised an eyebrow. "It's nice to be popular, isn't it, but I don't have time for pleasantries. I need to know who you are, and what you know."

The Doctor grabbed the man's head and pressed his hands on the man's temple. The two men with him grimaced as the man started to scream, as information was wrenched from his mind.

Several minutes later, the Doctor let go of the man's head, and he slumped lifelessly in his chair.

The Doctor stepped back; he was breathing heavily, anger flashing through his body. The man wasn't a reporter, he was a deep cover NSA operative. The Doctor had seen flashes of the demonstration back at the ranch, the phone call he'd made to his superiors. That wasn't what made him hot with anger, it was the images of what else he'd seen.... Jack Harkness was coming.

With a growl, he turned away from the lifeless figure. "Dispose of that, and then make sure the canisters are in place."

"But sir, that's..." one man began to say, but stopped as he found he couldn't breathe.

"It's a simple task. The canisters will already be in place, all you have to do send the confirmation signal. The lights on the map will go on, and if they've done their job, there should be one in every capital in the world, understood."

The man let out a choking "yes" and drew in a gasp of air when the hand that had been round his throat was released.

"Good, and if my boss, well, the one who thinks he's my boss asks for me, tell him I have something personal to attend to. Oh, and tell him, don't try and force me to come back, that particular leash doesn't work, and if he tries, he'll find himself with something other than his bank balance to worry about."

With that he walked away and hot into the waiting car, and drove off into night.

"Why do people never listen to me," he muttered as he drove. "Am I not speaking English, stay away I said, or else I said."

He looked in the mirror and saw his refection looking scornfully back at him, and then he heard that voice in his head.

'You're slipping, you won't be able to keep me in for longer, then I will get rid of you.'

"Shut up, you're still trapped, aren't you, and you can't do anything."

The reflection eyes widened, in sudden horror. 'No, you can't let him, it would wipe out everybody.'

"That's not up to me. I'm going to do something far more...satisfying. Now be a good boy and shut up," he said, and blinked, and the reflection became him again.

* * *

Jack and the others stepped out of the jet, and walked down the steps towards the waiting men and cars.

One of the men came forward and put out his hand. "Captain Harkness, Special Agent Thompson, I'm area supervisor. I sorry to have to rush you, but we have a lead, we have choppers waiting" he said.

"A lead?" Jack said.

"We managed to get an agent inside, set him up as a dealer. He was the one who sent out the Level Six, but we have a problem. He said he'd got a lead, and was going to follow it up. The last we heard from him, he was outside a warehouse on a private airfield about thirty miles from here. We did a sweep with one of our satellites, a man matching the description we were give, was seen getting into a car. We managed to track it, he's coming our way."

Jack looked at the agent, then he looked back at the rest of his team, this was about to get very serious.

*******************

The Doctor looked up at the sound of the helicopters overhead.

He'd been heading for the airfield he'd seen in the agent's head, the airfield where Jack Harkness would be.

With a snarl, he wrenched the wheel, if Jack Harkness wanted a chase, he would give him one.

* * *

Jack looked down, and saw the car execute a handbrake turn.

"He's onto us!" he shouted above the sound of the engines.

Agent Thompson looked down at the car, and nodded, before speaking into his radio.

"Target is running, disable the car, fire at will!"

**Chapter Eight**

The car slewed off the road, but was corrected by its driver, as bullets traced a line of fire along the road, kicking up dirt.

The car swung round once more, and with wheels spinning it took off back up the road it had come down.

The helicopters swung round, and set off in pursuit, confident in their ability to catch and stop the car.

* * *

Jack held onto his seat as the helicopter swung round. He wasn't happy that they were firing at the Doctor, but his protests went unheeded.

He sat silent, as the lead helicopter closed in on the car. He knew that this was going to end badly, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

* * *

The Doctor spun the car again, and let out a frustrated snarl, he couldn't shake of the helicopters.

"Enough of this!" he snarled, and sent the car into a handbrake turn, kicking dust into the air, obscuring it from view of the helicopters.

**************

Dammit!" Jack heard Agent Thompson curse. "Hold back, wait for the dust to clear!"

Jack looked over at the other helicopter, watching as it started to climb. He jumped when it suddenly veered to its right, as if blown by a sudden gust of wind.

"Turn now!" he said to the pilot, a wave of uneasiness making his stomach reel.

The helicopter banked sharply, and as it turned Jack saw the one thing he didn't want to see.

As the dust cleared, there was the Doctor, in the searchlight of the first helicopter, looking up, sonic pointed at the still lurching helicopter.

"Take him down!" Agent Thompson shouted.

Before Jack could react, there was the crack of a high powered rifle, and Jack watched, helpless to do anything, as the Doctor was spun round by the force of the bullet, and lay still in the whirling dust.

* * *

Jack was out of the helicopter before it landed, and was running towards the fallen Time Lord.

The red bloom on the Doctor's overcoat told Jack that the marksman had hit his target, and he heaved a sigh of relief, when he saw the Doctor's chest rise and fall.

"Doctor," he said, and was surprised to see him open his eyes.

He was hoping to see the Doctor he knew, but instead almost black eyes stared back at him.

"Harkness!" he growled and suddenly grabbed the lapels of Jack's coat, and started pulling him closer.

"Harkness, I should have killed you a long time ago," he snarled, tightening his grip on Jack's clothes.

Jack tried to pull away, but the Doctor's grip was too tight, and the collar of his shirt was starting to cut into his neck.

He was about to try and free himself, when he felt hands pull him away, and he found himself behind a wall of NSA agents.

"Get him up!" he heard Agent Thompson bark.

There was the sound of a scuffle, and Jack tried to break through the Agents, but was forcibly held back.

"Get those cuffs on him, there's only one of him!"

"No, don't, you don't need those!" Jack was shouting, but he was ignored, as he watched the struggling, cursing Time Lord being dragged towards one of the helicopters.

"I won't forget this Harkness, you are dead!" he was shouting.

The Doctor was roughly pushed in, followed by two burly Agents, and the Doctor's yells of "Harkness!" were cut off by the door and the sound of the engine as it took off.

Jack rounded on Agent Thompson. "There was no need to shoot him, and where the hell are you taking him!" he yelled.

"Somewhere safe, and yes there was a need to shoot him. I could have ordered a kill, but he's worth more alive. He knows what the people in charge know. I'll let you know what we get from him."

Agent Thompson turned to walk back to the waiting helicopter, but Jack grabbed his arm, and spun him around, and the Agent found a weapon in his face.

The remaining agents had drawn their weapons, and were nervously aiming them at Jack, who took no notice of them.

"To hell you will. Wherever he goes, Torchwood goes, and in case you want to argue, my pay grade goes way above yours. So unless you want to find yourself shuffling papers in some backwater field office, you'll take me and the rest of my team to where you're taking him."

Agent Thompson looked at Jack, and decided that discretion was the better option at the moment. He could check this Torchwood out later. At least if they were bogus, he would have them in the right place to deal with them.

"Stand down agents," he said to the other men. "Alright Captain, but until you can prove your authority, the Doctor remains in NSA custody, is that clear?"

Jack thought for a second. "Fine, but you have to let our medic treat his wound."

"Why?" Agent Thompson asked.

"Because, he's classed as a Security Level Ten. You may question our credentials, but you can't question your own governments."

Agent Thompson digested that. A Level Ten, that meant he was of major importance, on a level with the President himself.

"Okay, he's being taken to one of secure research facilities, in the middle of the Nevada Desert. I'll have the co-ordinates relayed to your plane, they can land there. But be warned Captain Harkness, if you're lying to me."

"I understand," Jack said. "Shall we," he said, and moved towards the helicopter.

*******************

White Coat had tried to ring the Doctor's phone, at least a dozen times. He hadn't liked the answer he got from the two men he'd sent to escort the Doctor to the monitoring station.

This didn't bode well. He should have put a shorter leash on the Time Lord, made him a little more obedient. But to do so, would have risked permanent damage to the mind and brain of a unique person, and he knew that the board of directors would not be happy if that happened.

Now, he had a problem, the tracking device he's put inside the Time Lord had been stationary for some time, and he didn't like where it had stopped.

A buzzer interrupted his thought.

"Yes," he said impatiently.

"Do you always speak to your superiors in such a tone?" a calm voice but haughty voice replied.

White Coat blanched, it was the Chairman of the Board.

"We've been waiting for a progress report. I hear you have the Time Lord in your possession again. At least that is one piece of good news. We shall arrange to have him transported immediately."

White Coat swallowed. "Ah, there maybe a small problem sir."

"Problem?" the voice answered, the tone going from pleasant to icy cold. "Not with the project, I hope?"

"No sir, it's the Time Lord, he may have fallen into the hands of one of the human security agencies."

There was an uncomfortable silence, before the voice spoke again.

"I see, then we shall have to rectify that. Expect the Head of Security in less than an hour. This does not bode well, we cannot risk the project being stopped. If we cannot retrieve the Time Lord, then we shall have him eliminated."

White Coat sat back in his chair, that did not sit well with his own plans. Taking out his mobile he dialled a number he hadn't used for a while.

"It's me, we have a problem."

*****************

Martha hurried along the starkly lit corridor, closely followed by Gwen and Ianto. They were followed by two armed soldiers, who stuck closely to them.

As they approached the door at the end of the corridor, which was lined with what looked like cells, they could hear the sounds of raised voices.

One of the soldiers opened the door, and as the trio stepped in, they entered a scene of chaos.

****************

Jack was being held back by two men, and beyond that, behind a glass wall, was the Doctor, who was being forcibly held down by two over large men in white.

Blood was spattered over the Doctor, the white tunics of the men, and the walls of the cell.

Martha took this all in, and she felt anger rising in her blood. The Doctor maybe a homicidal, psychotic, but he was still the Doctor.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!" she yelled. "Get those idiots out of there!"

She placed her medical kit on the floor, opened it and took out an already loaded tranquiliser gun.

"Let me in there!" she yelled at the man who looked like he was in charge.

The force of her words prompted the man into action, and he swiftly punched at a panel on the wall.

The door slid open, and she stepped in, closely followed by Ianto and Jack, who had managed to get past the two agents.

"Out of my way!" she yelled at the two men, who more than willing let go of the cursing, struggling Time Lord.

Martha wasted no time, aimed and fired, the dart hitting home instantly.

The effect was almost as instant, and the Doctor sank to the floor.

Martha walked over, and once she was assured that the Doctor was out of it, she turned to Jack and the man who had let her in.

"That's better, now can somebody tell me what the hell is going on!"

**Chapter Nine **

Martha gave the guards a glacial glare, they were standing way too close for her comfort, and she didn't like the way that the NSA doctor was watching her every move.

She liked the restraints that were round the Doctor's ankles and wrists even less, but she understood the necessity.

He had been.... no, still was the homicidal psychotic, the one she wished never to meet again, but that didn't mean he shouldn't be treated like any other mentally ill patient. She could understand why they'd done it, she'd seen the havoc he could wreak, knew what damage he could do.

She had nearly finished stitching the wound left by the bullet, which she had removed, when the Doctor let out a breathy sigh, and his eyelids fluttered.

Martha's heart beat a little faster, the sedative was wearing off, and she knew she had limited time, before he would come round fully.

She looked over at the NSA doctor, and her temper flared.

"Instead of just watching, you could help me. In case you haven't noticed he's coming round, and you really want him back behind a locked door, before he does!" she snapped.

The doctor looked a little surprised, but did as she asked, and together they quickly put a dressing over the wound.

Martha sighed with relief as the soldiers wheeled the now stirring Doctor out of the treatment room, and back into his cell.

* * *

Agent Thompson put the phone down, it had been a very enlightening conversation he had just finished. Well, a one sided conversation, as his ears were roasted by the Secretary General.

He thought this Captain Harkness had been just giving him a load of bull-shit about the crazy man they had locked up. He'd been told in no uncertain manner to co-operate with Captain Harkness.

However, he still needed information, so he decided to keep the conversation to himself, just for a little while longer. He wanted answers, and if there was thing the NSA were good at, it was getting answers.

**************

Jack was pacing the room again. He still couldn't believe that himself and his team had been confined to one room, with only Martha being allowed out.

She'd been gone for over two hours, and he was beginning to wonder if they'd lied when they said she would be allowed to treat the Doctor.

He thought about the Doctor, and how the hell he was going to reverse whatever that bastard White Coat had done, yet again. Anger started to burn through, boiling in his blood. When he found White Coat, and he would, he would kill him, and he had plenty of ways he could make him suffer before he did.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door to their cell, albeit a comfortable cell opened and Martha stepped in, scowling as the door was closed and locked behind.

"Anyone would think we were the enemy," she growled.

"Martha, thank god, we thought they'd put you somewhere else," Jack said. "How's the Doctor?"

"Just about coming round by the time I'd finished. They took him away before I had chance to see if he was still, you know."

"One card short of a full deck," Ianto said,

"That's not helping," Gwen said.

"Sorry, but he isn't exactly playing with a full deck," Ianto said, absently touching the dressing on his neck.

Jack paced the room again. "Something's not right, I can feel it," he said.

******************

The Doctor gradually opened his eyes, but shut them again. Wherever he was it was way too bright, and why did his left shoulder hurt.

Then he remembered. The pain of the bullet as it tore through his flesh, and the last face he saw, before he'd been dragged away.

He opened his eyes wide, despite the light, but could see nothing but darkness beyond it.

"Harkness!" he roared, and tried to stand up, but found he was manacled to the chair he was in,

"Captain Harkness isn't here," a voice said.

"Then get him, so I can choke him with these!" he spat, and rattled the manacles.

"Oh, I don't think so," the voice said, and the owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows.

"Who in the hell are you!?" the Doctor snarled.

"Who I am is not important, but what you know is."

The Doctor stared at the person, and then started to laugh, until he felt the manacles tighten.

"As if I'd tell you anything," he said in a disparaging tone.

"I thought you might say that. Perhaps you need some persuasion."

The Doctor shifted nervously in the chair, when he heard the crackle of something electrical.

* * *

Jack's patience had finally run out, and he'd been pounding the hell out of the door for the last half hour, to no avail.

"I know somebody's out there, I am so going to beat the crap out of you, if you don't let me out right now!"

It made him even angrier, when he heard the sound of feet outside but no-one opened the door.

"Jack, will you calm down, they're not going to let us out, no matter how much you kick and scream," Martha said.

"They're up to something, I know it. They have no idea, if he gets loose," Jack said.

"If he gets loose, they won't be worrying about us," Ianto said.

His words seemed almost prophetic, as what sounded an explosion shook the room in which they were imprisoned, and the sounds of panicked shouting filtered under the gap at the bottom of the door.

Gwen suddenly sniffed the air. "Can you smell...?"

Jack sniffed the air as well. "That smells like..." and he whipped round at the sound of someone falling, and saw Gwen slip bonelessly to the floor, and as his own vision was blurring, he saw the others fall to the floor.

******************

The pain had been incredible, and he hadn't been able to run from it. Every nerve and muscle in his body was on fire, and his hearts were racing, and his skin burned from where the Taser had touched.

He spat blood at his torturer, having bitten his tongue in one of his many convulsions. He screamed abuse in his native language, but still refused to give them what they wanted.

"You are so dead!" he screamed at the shadows. "All of you!"

He heard the crackle of the Taser once more, and saw the arc of blue light as it came towards him.

But it never reached him, as the whole room shook, and the only light in the room flickered, and then died, and there was the sound of sporadic gunfire.

The gunfire faded away, and a scent began to fill the air, and it filled his nostrils...some kind of neurological disabling gas. He knew it wouldn't affect him, but it didn't help him either, as he was still manacled to the chair.

He started to shuffle the chair towards what he hoped was the door, when it began to open, and he froze.

He caught a flash of white in the torch light that filled the room, and then the room was flooded with the red glow of what was probably the emergency lighting.

The flash of white had been White Coat, who was accompanied by several well armed and muscled men.

* * *

White Coat had stood outside what was supposed to be a covert NSA research facility; well it probably was, to most people. But then, he wasn't most people.

He hadn't been happy to see the Head of Company Security, the man, if you could call him that. He was a dangerous mix of intelligence and brutality, no doubt one of the Companies special creations.

He'd barely registered White Coats' presence, and when he did it was with a disparaging sneer on his lips.

They were now walking towards a room at the end of a corridor, following the steady beep of the tracker implanted in the Doctor. White Coat was also monitoring the Doctor's vital signs, which had been erratic, with wildly fluctuating heartbeats.

It wasn't until he entered the room, that he found the reason why. The smell of ozone and burnt flesh filled his nostrils. When the emergency light kicked in, he saw the Doctor, and he became incensed, not at the damage done to the Doctor, but the fact that no-one but himself should damage his property.

He reached out to touch the Doctor, but wasn't surprised when he flinched away. Persisting, he touched the Doctor's face.

"You don't have to be scared of me, just the humans," he said softly. "Get these things off him," he ordered.

The Chief of Security motioned for two of the armed men to do so, and they went behind the Doctor, and used small bursts of liquid nitrogen to break the shackles.

The Doctor was up in seconds, and before he could be stopped, he hauled the unconscious form of his torturer off the floor.

With a snarl he went to twist the man's neck, but a well muscled hand stopped him.

He snapped his head round, and found the Chief of Security staring straight at him.

"I know you want to kill him, but now is not the time. Save it for another time, we have to leave."

White Coat watched silently, wondering if he would have to administer the sedative he had in his pocket. He was relieved when he saw the Doctor drop his torturer, and a little bit of sanity return to his eyes.

"Perhaps, but there is someone here I'm not leaving without," he said.

"We don't have..." the Security Chief began, but his words were cut off by a hand at his throat.

I said, I'm not leaving without him, he's here, I can smell him" he snarled. "He's mine, and I want him back."

White Coat sighed, he had a pretty good idea who.

"I suggest you let him. He'll be much more co-operative," he said to the Security Chief, who was starting to turn what was probably a shade of blue.

The man nodded, well gave an approximation of a nod, and drew in a whoop of air when the Doctor let go of his throat.

"Well, go get him, time is short. But no dawdling, no matter who else you find," White Coat said. "We'll be waiting outside, be quick."

The Doctor needed no more encouragement, and left the room, and a very ruffled Security Chief.

* * *

The door to the room the Doctor wanted seemed to be jammed, something was against it. His temper flared, what he wanted was behind it.

With a growl he began kicking the door, which now that it wasn't locked, splintered easily.

He pushed the door, and found it was a body that was stopping the door, a familiar body.

"Harkness!" he snarled.

He stepped over him, and found the person he wanted. He hauled the person up, and onto his shoulder, and with a little effort stepped over the body near the door.

"Another time Harkness," he said, and moved off, carrying his prize.

*****************

White Coat stood by the helicopter, his patience wearing thin, along with the time that was growing short. Soon this place would be swarming with NSA agents, and no doubt half the U.S Army.

He let out a breath of relief when he saw the Doctor appear, carrying someone over his shoulder.

"Hurry up," he said, as the Doctor dumped the figure in the helicopter.

The look the Doctor gave him was venomous, but he said nothing. He climbed in next to the figure; his attention focused on it, as the helicopter took off, and disappeared into the night.

**************

Jack felt like his head was full of red light, but as he opened his eyes, he realised it was the emergency lighting.

He was up in an instant, scanning the room.

He saw Martha, then Gwen, who were both beginning to stir. But where was Ianto?

He turned again, saw the door, which was splintered, and with a sudden chill, he knew what had happened.

He ran, ignoring the NSA staff that were starting to stir, ignored the shouted enquiry from Agent Thompson.

He burst out of the building, but there was nothing, not even the sound of a retreating engine.

The Doctor was gone, no doubt back in the hands of that bastard White Coat............ and the Doctor had Ianto!

**Chapter Ten**

The helicopter landed, whipping the grass into wild circles.

White Coat looked on as the Doctor dragged Ianto out of the helicopter. "Just put him somewhere safe, we have work to finish."

*******************

The Doctor carried Ianto round the back of the ranch house, and used the tradesmen's entrance.

He used the service elevator, and carried him into his quarters, and slung him onto his bed.

He ran a hand over Ianto's face, and kissed him.

"I'll be back for you, pretty boy," he hissed.

He walked away, a non-too pleasant smile on his face. If he couldn't get to Harkness, then he would take the one thing he really cared about.

"I'll make you wish you'd died on Game station Five, Harkness" he snarled and left his quarters, locking the door behind him.

* * *

Jack cursed himself for allowing him and his team to be locked up. Now he was seething with anger, as he watched the footage of the Doctor's so called 'interrogation'.

"Interrogation, torture more like," Gwen said, the anger evident in her voice.

The first time Jack had seen the tape, he'd stormed off to find Agent Thompson, but found Gwen had got there before him, and had decked him with a well placed kick.

Jack had watched as Agent Thompson had been hauled away by other NSA agents. He'd spent the next half-hour trying to get away from the Director of the NSA, who was apologising profusely, and hoped that he and the Doctor wouldn't take Agent Thompson's actions as the views of the NSA or the U.S government.

He told the Director he didn't, but couldn't speak for the Doctor.

Hell, he didn't even know if the Doctor was the Doctor anymore, he'd seen the look on the Doctor's face during his 'interrogation', and it frightened him.

He'd seen that face once before, in a year that never was. That look, one of insanity, and it had belonged to the Master.

He hadn't noticed Martha enter the room. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and tried not to look at the tape, or listen to the sounds.

"We'll find them," she said.

"How, they're long gone," Jack said, his eyes never leaving the footage.

Martha smiled slightly. "Aren't you forgetting something, the something we did after Tibet?"

Jack did look at Martha then, and saw she was holding something in her hand, and it was beeping.

His eyes widened....the tracers!

He gave Martha a smile, which was now full of hope...hope that they could find Ianto and the Doctor.

"Then, what are we waiting for. They've just given us full jurisdiction, and they have helicopters to spare!" he said, and with that he headed out of the office, followed by Gwen and Martha, leaving that awful tape, and the sounds coming from it.

* * *

White Coat was not happy, but he was also a little afraid. Although he'd retrieved the Time Lord, the warehouse that stored the monitoring equipment had been overrun by NSA operatives. That meant they would soon discover the whereabouts of the canisters, and long laid plans would be ruined.

But, it wasn't that what frightened him, it was what the Board of Directors would do to him. He had to act, before the Security Chief had chance to make his report.

Perhaps it was time to take his leave; he had enough money, and his own hiding place, where even the Directors wouldn't find him. Plus he had the Time Lord.

If he played this right, he could have a very powerful, if unstable ally, who could play a vital part in his own plans for Earth.

But first he had to get rid of the Company Security Chief, and he knew exactly how to do that.

* * *

The Doctor was growing impatient, all he wanted was to get back to Mr Jones, but the two burly guards were keeping him from him.

He looked up as he heard voices outside the room he was in, and the door opened...White Coat.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, I know you're itching to get back to your little pet. However, there is something I wish to discuss with you."

The Doctor listened and he liked what he heard.

"So, let me get this straight, basically, we've screwed up some major bad guys plans to conquer this planet, and you want to run away, before they come and take your toys away."

"Well yes, but they'll do more than take my toys away, as you put it. I however, have no intention of being found. I have a base of my own, somewhere....remote. My former employers will be looking to retrieve what they see as their property, that's you by the way."

"I'm nobodies' property," the Doctor snarled.

"Indeed, so what do you say? Do you want to join me, or wait for them to pick you up, like a piece of left luggage?"

White Coat watched as the Doctor thought over his question. He felt for the device in his pocket, if he had to use it, he would and try to repair any damage later. The Time Lord may think he belonged to no-one, he was wrong.

The Doctor took a deep breath, and a grin spread across his face, that White Coat could only describe as wicked.

"As long as I can take pretty boy, I can't see why not. It'll be fun."

"Good, we do however have a slight problem, one that needs to dealt with, before you can go back to your prize," White Coat said.

"And that would be?" the Doctor said, the smile fading from his face.

"Their Chief of Security, the man you met back at the NSA base."

"Can't you just kill him," the Doctor said.

"Unfortunately not, he would be missed. We have to be more subtle, not arouse suspicion," White Coat answered.

The Doctor smiled again. "Subtle, you want subtle. I can do subtle."

White Coat smiled, and relaxed, taking his hand off the device.

"Well, whatever it is you're going to do, make it soon. He's due to make his report.

The Doctor stood up. "Leave it to me, I have just the thing."

"Good, now I have things to attend to. I will call you when I am ready to leave."

* * *

The Chief of Security was about to contact his base, when he felt an odd sensation on his spine. It felt like something was crawling up it.

He shrugged his shoulders, hoping to dislodge it, but the sensation continued.

He tried to ignore it, but it had moved and was almost at the base of his skull. He reached up to brush away whatever was there, but a sharp pain, which felt very much like a set of fangs, stopped him, and he felt........

" Sir, your report," a voice came from a screen filled with swirling lights.

"Status normal, Time Lord retrieved, Project Alpha on schedule."

The person on the other end of the swirling lights frowned.....there was something about his superiors voice.....it sounded. The figure shook his head, it must be the distance.

"Report recorded, when are you returning sir?"

"Not yet, orders are to stay and supervise, end report."

If the person on the other end had visual, he would have seen his superior slump in his seat. He would have seen the figure move out of the shadows, and bend down to look at the base of the Security Chiefs skull.

"Hmm, worked better than I thought," the Doctor said, examining what looked like a metallic spider, its fangs buried deep in the Security Chief's skull.

"You stay there, my little friend, make sure he makes his next report on time."

The metallic spider twitched, and beeped softly, and the Security Chief twitched as well.

"Brilliant, now if you don't mind, I have a date."

* * *

Ianto was having a most unusual dream, he was pretty sure that he'd never smelt aftershave in any dream. In fact, he was damn sure he hadn't, and if by any chance he did, it wasn't an aftershave he recognised.

"Time to wake up," a voice said, and on recognising the voice, he shot up, fear chasing away what had been an unusual but pleasurable dream.

He was off the bed in an instant and was reaching for his.....

"Looking for this," the familiar voice said from the shadows, and a handgun fell to the floor in pieces.

"No, not again," Ianto whispered, his voice hoarse with fear.

"Oh yes, again, pretty boy," the voice said, and a figure appeared out of the darkness, and lunged straight for him.

**Chapter Eleven**

Jack willed the helicopter to go faster, he needed to get where they were going, fast. Oh, how he wished he had the TARDIS, but she wouldn't budge from the public park they'd found her in.

He was getting worried; the tracer inside Ianto had either stopped working, or was shielded. He didn't want to think that it had stopped working because....... He shook that thought away, and turned his attention back to the direction the helicopter was going.

He looked to his left, then his right, could see the other helicopters. He knew there were more behind, all full of armed NSA agents.

"How did you get the location, they wouldn't exactly advertise it?" Jack said, as the helicopter swung right.

The co-pilot answered him. "When we raided the warehouse and found the monitoring station, we arrested two people. With a little persuasion they gave us the location, we've had it under surveillance ever since. We'll be landing in a minute. We'll go the rest of the way by foot."

The helicopter started to descend, and the three of them looked down and could see men milling around on a dirt road.

They hopped out of the helicopter, and jogged over to a small group of men. One of the men stepped forward.

"Captain Harkness, Supervisor John Collins. I'm told you're in overall charge. I heard about the debacle at the research compound, it won't happen again."

Jack nodded. "Supervisor Collins, my associates Doctor Martha Jones, Gwen Cooper. When we go in, it'll have to fast and hard, no quarter, I don't think they'll be giving any."

"There's one problem, the location, it's a dude ranch, and from what we can tell, there's at least a hundred civilians."

Jack blinked in surprise. "Then how the hell are we going to get in?"

"Don't worry about that, but it will lose us the advantage of surprise."

Jack sighed, he couldn't let innocent civilians get hurt. "Do what you have to do, but let us deal with the Doctor."

"Yes sir," Agent Collins said and motioned to the helicopter they'd just left.

As it rose into the air, Jack spotted the canister, and then saw the writing on the side. He looked at Agent Collins in horror.

"Retcon, how the hell did you get hold of Retcon!?"

"That as you would say, is classified. We've mixed it with a non-lethal gas, this way they won't get hurt or remember anything. Anyone above ground will be unconscious in seconds," Agent Collins said.

Jack bit back his reply, and shelved the Retcon problem until he had time to deal with it.

He turned to Gwen and Martha. "We have to make sure that they stay away from the Doctor, if they find him first, it could be a bloodbath. They have no idea what he's capable of, then again, neither do I."

"Then we have to get in before they do," Jack said. "Come on, once they're inside we can split."

The trio ran after the group, and arrived at the gates of the dude ranch, just as the helicopter made its first sweep.

* * *

Ianto spat out a mouthful of blood and pushed himself off the floor. He could still taste him on his tongue, even after he'd been backhanded for rejecting his advances.

His attacker was currently righting himself after Ianto had managed to land a solid punch of his own.

The snarl coming from the general direction of his attacker warned Ianto that when his attacker recovered, he was going to suffer for it.

"That wasn't very nice Mr Jones. I'm going have to teach you a lesson for that, you're really going have to remember your place, which will be under me."

The Doctor wiped the blood from nose, and pulled himself up from the floor.

"No more playing," he snarled and flew across the bed, straight at Ianto, murderous intent in his eyes.

Ianto braced himself, and tried to use the force of the Doctor's lunge to his advantage, but the Time Lord was too quick and too strong, and he found himself pinned under the Doctor, once again surprised by the strength he possessed.

"No escaping this time pretty boy, time to give me what you promised the last time we met," the Doctor growled in Ianto's ear.

Ianto wanted to struggle, but the force of the Doctor's attack had taken the rest of his strength, and he knew he couldn't escape. He said a silent sorry to Jack, and detached himself from his surrounding, awaiting the inevitable.

What he didn't expect was the blaring of an alarm, and the weight of the Doctor suddenly lifting from his body. He heard the Doctor speaking rapidly to someone, and then heard his frustrated snarl.

"Don't tell me what to do. I'll kill him because I want to."

The Doctor walked back over to him, and hauled him up. "It seems we'll have to wait, again. Your beloved Captain is becoming a royal pain. I really will have to make sure he stays dead this time. I'll be back," and threw Ianto against the wall, not caring that his head cracked painfully against it.

He ignored him as he fell to the floor, his attention now focused on killing Captain Jack Harkness.

* * *

Jack walked carefully around the fallen forms of the civilians. He could hear sporadic gunfire; the NSA must have found what they wanted.

He looked over at Martha, who was examining one of the civilians. "Are they okay?"

She nodded and stood up. "They'll probably be out for twenty-four hours, but it's risky, some of them are bound to be immune to Retcon."

"Let them deal with that, I only want three things, and I'm thinking that what I want is down below, come on," he said, and headed for what looked like an elevator.

* * *

White Coat had not been expecting the alarm, and when he looked at his screen, he saw the guests in the hotel falling wordlessly to the floor, followed seconds later by dozens of armed men.

But his attention was taken by three figures moving in the opposite direction.

"Captain Harkness, you are becoming more trouble that it is worth keeping you alive."

He hissed in annoyance, and stepped over to his comm. "I don't care if you're in the middle of something. There are NSA agents crawling all over this facility, and there's someone here you're just dying to meet as well. Our friend Captain Harkness has arrived, make sure he stays dead for longer this time."

An angry look crossed his face at the impolite reply he received. "You will not speak to me in that tone, you will do as I say. You do remember our friend, the collar, but I'd rather not put you on a leash."

The incoherent snarled response wasn't quite what he wanted to hear, but he knew it was ensure at least semi-obedience. If there was one thing that would motivate the ticking time bomb that was the psychotic Time Lord, it was one Captain Jack Harkness.

"As I said, dispose of him more efficiently this time, and his companions. I will be waiting for you at the emergency exit, don't be late."

With that, he shut off his comm., but it beeped again, and before he could answer it a voice boomed over it.

"What have you done to the project? Do you really think we hadn't noticed what you've done to the Security Chief! Why is the facility crawling with human authorities!?You will stand down and we will deal with this!"

"Have you finished," White Coat said. "Good, I don't take orders from you. By the time your so called security staff get here, I will be long gone. Oh, I will be taking the Time Lord with me, but you're welcome to whatever the human authorities don't destroy."

He switched the comm off, picked up a briefcase and made his way towards a door that led to a tunnel that glowed red with emergency light. He got into a golfing buggy and drove off into the tunnel.

He knew that shuttle he'd appropriated at Cold Runs Deep would come in handy, especially since his secret facility was so far away.

He could only hope that his property would make it in time, as he really didn't want to have the time and expense of repossessing him once more.

He pulled up to the shuttle, opened the hatch, climbed inside. He took out a small box, and pressed a button, knowing full well what he was going to release.

Somewhere under the level that the battle between the two forces was raging, a door began to rise.

As it did, loud chittering noises came from inside the darkened room. This turned to hissing, and suddenly four shapes darted from within, and with a blur of speed, scuttled in the direction of battle sounds

* * *

The Doctor dropped another body, these pathetic humans broke so easily, and they were getting in the way of his real target.

He was shouting orders at the remains of his own security team, who, to be truthful were no match for the force that had invaded, and they were rapidly being wiped out.

He was about to shout more orders, when he heard it, the hissing, chittering.

His heart quickened, and he felt the adrenalin surge through his body....the pack was loose.

* * *

Jack was about to step out of the elevator, when a bullet pinged way too close to his ear. He and the two women dived to the floor.

"This is getting out of control! We have to find them, now!" Jack yelled above the gunfire.

He fired off a few shots of his own, stopping the gunfire momentarily.

"Go!" he yelled, pushing Gwen and Martha in front of him.

They'd only just made to the safety of the corner of a corridor, when they heard the sounds of men screaming.

It was then that another sound filled the air, and Jack paled.

He knew that sound, it was the sound of death.

* * *

Ianto came too with a start, and instantly regretted it, as his head near exploded with pain. He was distracted by the sounds of gunfire, and the sound of something else.

He struggled up, and forced himself to move. He opened the door, went to step out, and knew instantly it was a mistake.

One, a wave of dizziness and nausea overtook his body. Two, the gunfire was coming closer, and three, something, no several something's were scuttling up the corridor.

He turned to go back into the room, but never made it, as his body decided it couldn't go any further, and he collapsed, right in the path of the scuttling something's.

* * *

At that precise moment, and by some twist of call it fate, or luck, or whatever you want to call it, three figures came racing round the corner.

All three of them stopped, and all three of them cried out in horror, and one of the something's extended a clawed appendage towards the fallen Ianto.

**Chapter Twelve**

Jack rounded the corner at speed, closely followed by the others. For one insane moment he wondered why they were running towards that god awful noise.

They'd weaved their way through the chaos of a battle between the NSA and White Coat's men. They hadn't seen the Doctor, or Ianto, and now they were racing down a destroyed corridor.

Several times they had to stop, as an explosion rocked the floor.

"We have to find them quick, this place is coming apart!" Jack yelled above the sound of the explosion.

Gwen and Martha nodded, they didn't need telling, the carnage was plain to see.... and then they'd heard that noise.

Jack skidded to a halt, frozen in half-shock and half horror at what he saw.

He saw Ianto stumble and collapse, and then he saw the creature, one of its clawed appendages reaching out for him.

"No!" he cried, and without thinking he ran, drew his gun, and fired.

* * *

The creature had nearly touched Ianto, when the first bullet hit it. It screeched its annoyance and pain, scuttling back, dragging its useless leg.

Jack didn't stop firing, and the creature writhed and screeched in agony, before letting out a long hissing screech and collapsing in a pool of its own bodily fluids.

Jack turned away from the dead thing, and ran back to the fallen Ianto, who was now being examined by Martha.

"How is he?" he asked, placing a hand on Ianto's shoulder.

Martha let go of one of his eyelids, and pulled the other up. "Not good, his pupils are uneven."

She gently lifted his head and revealed a sticky pool of drying blood.

"Some sought of head trauma, we need to get him out of here, now!" she said urgently.

* * *

The Doctor had left the creatures to do their gruesome work. He walked away from the screams of both the NSA agents and his own men. He cared for neither, all he wanted was to find Jack Harkness, kill him, well, try to kill him, retrieve his prize and leave.

Speaking of his prize, he wondered if he'd come round yet, better make sure he stays out, he thought, and then return to finding the good captain.

He stepped out of the elevator and was about to move, when he heard a familiar voice.

He hissed in quiet anger and slowly advanced up the corridor, using the smoke to his advantage.

As he turned the corridor, he saw Jack, leaning against the wall.

Moving slowly, feet not making a sound, he edged his way towards Jack, who was obviously distracted by something, as he never heard him approach. He could so easily reach out and snap his neck, before he had time to react.

Then he heard another voice, female, sounded like Martha Jones, then the Welsh tones of what could only be Gwen Cooper and he changed his mind.

Oh, this just keeps getting better and better he thought, all three, all in one place. Then a very wicked thought entered his head, this would make for an interesting game of punish the captain.

Yes, kill them first then leave him with the bodies, far more effective than killing someone who won't stay dead for long.

The wicked thought became a wicked smile, and he faded away, back into the thickening smoke.

Oh yes, he was so going to enjoy this.

He almost jumped when his comm. beeped, sounding as loud as an explosion in the quiet of the smoky corridor.

"Haven't you finished yet, my patience is wearing thin," White Coat said in his ear.

He ignored the voice, and tensed as he saw Jack straighten, he must have heard the beep.

"I know you can hear me. Leave whatever you are doing, and return to me. Now!" White Coat ordered.

The Doctor scowled as he saw Jack turn, and stare intently into the smoke, and take a cautious step forward.

Cursing the comm., he ripped it from his ear, and threw it away. It skittered across the floor, and straight towards Jack.

The Doctor tensed as he saw Jack start walking cautiously down the corridor, straight towards him.

He saw him bend down and pick up something, the discarded comm. unit, and once again stare intently into the smoke, before moving again.

As Jack moved closer, almost with striking distance, the idea of tormenting Jack by killing Martha and Gwen faded, and a murderous rage began to fill it place.

To hell with being subtle, he thought and with an inarticulate snarl he launched himself at Jack.

* * *

Jack had been standing at a short distance, watching as Martha continued examining Ianto, whilst thinking of a way for them to get Ianto out.

He straightened when he thought he heard a beep, and he turned round, and stared into the smoke. He shrugged his shoulders, probably a malfunctioning smoke alarm, but he should take a look, just in case.

When something landed at his feet as he walked down the corridor, he knew it wasn't a smoke alarm. He bent down, and picked the object up, it was a comm unit, one used by White Coat's men.

More cautiously he moved along the corridor, wary of an attack, but also loathe to leave the others unprotected.

He was about to turn back, when something akin to a freight train hit him from the side.

He was slammed into the wall, and found himself trying to prise the hands of an insane Time Lord from his throat.

"Harkness!" the Doctor snarled and tightened his grip on Jack's throat, intent on squeezing the life from him, albeit temporarily.

Jack managed to get a grip on one of the Doctor's arms, and force it back, and with a sick feeling in his stomach, he twisted, and kept twisting until he heard the snap of bones breaking.

The Doctor let out cry, a mixture of surprise and pain, and staggered back, one arm now hanging uselessly by his side.

With another snarl, he lunged for Jack again, but never made it, as a shot rang out, and he dropped to the floor, blood instantly blooming on his chest.

Jack looked to his left, and saw Gwen, a few feet away, weapon raised, and tears in her eyes.

Jack tore his eyes away from Gwen, and back at the now downed Time Lord, who was now breathing in short gasps.

Jack fell to his knees, and instantly put his hands over the gaping wound, trying to stem the blood that was welling out, way too fast for his liking.

He looked at the Doctor's face, expecting to see the insanity, but his heart almost stopped when the pain filled eyes that looked back at him were ones he recognized.

"Jack," the Doctor said his voice only a faint whisper.

Jack barely noticed Gwen kneel beside him, or hear her gun clatter to the floor.

"I'm sorry, dear god. I had to, he was killing you," she said, with a tear filled voice.

Jack never responded to her words, his eyes were locked on the Doctor's.

"Doctor..." he began, but the Doctor cut him off with blood filled words.

"Don't blame her," he whispered, and began choking as blood began to pour from his mouth.

Only then did Jack react, and the only word he screamed was. "Martha!"

**Chapter Thirteen**

Martha had heard the sounds of a struggle, had heard someone cry out in pain and then anger.

She jumped when she heard the gunshot, but continued examining Ianto.

It was when she heard Jack's emotionally charged use of her name, that she moved. She rounded the corner, and nearly stopped, but her medical training took over.

She didn't think about the person who was bleeding to death under her hands. She closed her ears to the blood filled breaths of the person. She closed her eyes to the tears of Jack and Gwen.

She could see nothing but the bloody mess that was the person's chest. She tried to close her ears to the almost silent words of the person bleeding life over her hands.

* * *

"Don't," the Doctor choked out, but she ignored him.

"Martha.... please.....let me go."

Martha shook her head in refusal, and clamped her hands over the welling blood. Her hands were now slick with the Doctor's blood, and somewhere deep inside, she knew she was fighting a losing battle.

But still she refused, and did what she did best, what she'd learnt in the year that never was, she improvised.

"Jack, give me your shirt," she said.

When there was no response from him, she turned her head towards him. "Jack, give me your shirt, now!" she snapped.

Jack blinked, as if he was just joining the world, and when he finally took in Martha's words, he quickly stripped.

"Screw it up, place it here," Martha said, and moved her hand, blood flowing more freely at the lack of pressure.

"Press down hard, we have to keep the blood flow down, give him a chance," she said, and fell back as Jack pressed his shirt on the Doctor's chest.

* * *

The Doctor shifted in silent agony, and his hand suddenly came up, and tried to remove the make shift tourniquet.

"No...Jack," his voice was almost inaudible.

"No, you're not dying, not here, not now," Jack said, pressing harder on the now blood soaked shirt.

He could hear the sounds of material being torn, but barely noticed as Martha appeared with strips of what was once her jacket.

"I have to tie these round him, make a tourniquet. Lift him Jack, carefully."

The Doctor let out a fluid filled groan as Jack carefully lifted him, his eyes opened, but they were unfocused.

Martha quickly wrapped the strips of material round the bloody mess that was the Doctor's jacket. She ignored the cry of pain as she tightened the strips, and then tightened them some more.

The effect was almost instant, and the flow of blood decreased, and she sat back.

She went to speak, when a huge explosion rocked the corridor, sending herself and jack tumbling away from the Doctor, and knocking Gwen off her feet.

* * *

There was an ominous cracking and the ceiling started falling, causing all three of them to scramble backwards, the air choked with smoke and dust.

Jack was on his feet as soon as the ceiling stopped falling, but he was frozen in place.

Between himself and where the Doctor had been lying, there was a wall of rubble.

"No!" he cried, and started pulling at the rubble.

As the rumble of the explosion faded away, there came another sound, the chittering hiss of death.

* * *

Gwen had managed to right herself, and was about to move towards Jack, when she heard the noise.

She turned, and saw a dark shape in the smoke, and she started to back away, cursing the fact that she'd thrown her gun away.

The noise and the shape got closer, and she backed away.

"Jack," she said, but there was no reply, only the sound of rubble being pulled.

The chittering turned to a hiss, and the shape lunged out of the smoke.

"Jack!" she screamed, and closed her eyes, expecting a painful death.

The shots that followed were as unexpected as the appearance of the creature had been.

Gwen opened her eyes and found the creature, now quite dead only inches from her.

The shots had come from behind her, and she turned, finding Martha, with her discarded gun in hand.

******************

The shots seemed to break the blind panic that Jack had flown into, when he'd seen the wall of rubble. He whipped round, just in time to see the creature fall to the ground, and see Gwen cowering in front of it.

He looked back at the rubble that was separating him from the Doctor, and he made a decision... look after the living, the dead will have to wait.

* * *

White Coat had run out of patience, and had decided to go and find his property. The explosions had told him that this particular venture was finished. He would go and find his property and go back to what he'd been doing, before he'd been tempted by the Board of Directors.

Crime, he decided, was much more profitable.

He walked down the now destroyed, smoke filled corridor, stepping over the bodies of fallen NSA agents and his own staff.

He stopped when he heard a low groan, somewhere in the smoke, and he slowed to a cautious walk, unsure of what was in the smoke.

He stopped when his foot touched something, and he heard the groan again. He looked down and saw a hand, then he saw the rest, it was his property, and it was severely injured, no more like fatally injured, he thought as he examined it.

No, he wasn't having that, this was his property, and it wasn't going to die on him, he had too many plans for it.

With a sigh, and ignoring the pain filled cries, he grabbed hold of his property and began dragging it, back towards the emergency exit, back towards the shuttle.

By the time he got his property back to the shuttle, it was barely alive. Now he was inside the shuttle, he could see clearly the damage done to his property.

It was obviously a bullet wound, and to one of its hearts.

"I can't have you dying, I have much for you to do," he said.

* * *

Jack was running as fast as he could, with the extra weight of Ianto in his arms. He could see Martha and Gwen ahead of him, heard their shouts of triumph as they found an exit from the rapidly collapsing building.

He didn't care about the building, or that any evidence was likely to be destroyed. All he cared about was getting Ianto somewhere safe, and then going back and digging the Doctor out of his concrete grave.

He ran out of the building and laid Ianto on the ground, and went to go back inside the building.

His way was barred by Agent Collins and two soldiers.

"Out of my way, I have to go back!" he growled.

"I'm sorry, but you're not in charge anymore, the military is. Anything inside that building belongs to them. Try and get in and they'll shoot you."

"Doesn't matter to me!" Jack snarled.

He went to push past the two soldiers, when the sound of engine made everybody look up.

Jack started when he recognised the shuttle.

"White Coat!" he snarled.

He turned to the two soldiers. "You have to stop that, stop it now!"

The two soldiers looked at Jack, then at each other, and one of them spoke rapidly into his comm.

Second later, a streak of fire lit up the sky and struck the still ascending shuttle.

It veered violently right, levelled off and continued on, but it was followed by an Apache helicopter.

The shuttle however, didn't get far; it banked sharply and disappeared rapidly into the trees surrounding the area.

*******************

Jack watched as the shuttle disappeared, and started sprinting in the direction it had fallen. He was followed by a least a dozen soldiers, Agent Collins and eventually Gwen.

* * *

White Coat staggered from the crashed shuttle, and away from it.

He'd heard the shouts of the soldiers in the surrounding woods, and he scowled.

He didn't want to leave his property, but he had no choice. Let them repair the damage, he could retrieve his property later.

He took one last look at the ruined shuttle, and he saw just beyond it, the figure of Captain Harkness emerging from the trees.

"You again, I really will have to think of a way of killing you captain," he said, as he disappeared into the trees, and made good his escape.

*****************

As Jack burst out of the trees, he thought he saw a glimpse of a white coat, but he couldn't be sure

The shuttle was burning, and the flames were dangerously close to the engines at the rear. He moved back, as the heat warmed his skin.

It was then that he saw movement; someone was inside the shuttle, White Coat.

Without thinking he ran forward, and tore open what was left of the shuttle's hatch.

He wasn't going to let that bastard die, not unless it was at his hands.

He looked round, trying to find the source of the movement, and then he caught a flash or material....very familiar looking material.

No, it couldn't be!

He went to move towards the familiar material when the flames that had been licking the sides of the shuttle roared into life, and a wall of flame forced him back.

"Doctor!" he cried, and without hesitation, he leapt into the flames.

**Chapter Fourteen**

Jack felt the flames sear his skin, but he didn't care. His mind was focused on the figure that was now struggling to pull itself up. He could see that the makeshift tourniquet had gone, as had the Doctor's jacket and shirt.

The makeshift tourniquet had been replaced by tightly applied bandages, and he was incredibly relieved to see no more blood.

It seemed, no matter what the Doctor wanted, his body wasn't going to let him just give up.

He was thankful to White Coat, even if he probably was doing it for his own reasons.

"Doctor!" he cried, and was at his side.

He had no time to be gentle, he went to pick the Doctor up, but with surprising strength, the Doctor pushed him away.

"Leave me!" he cried, scrabbling dangerously close to the flames that were rapidly advancing.

Jack started to panic, if he didn't get the Doctor out of here, it wouldn't matter if his body was healing, he would burn.

He moved towards the Doctor again, and got the same response, and any patience he'd had dissipated.

"To hell with this, I don't have time for a death wish," he growled.

He moved at speed, directly at the Doctor, and not giving him the chance to move or fight back, he tackled him, driving him hard against the side of the shuttle.

He blocked out the Doctor's cry of pain, as his bare back touched the now blistering hot metal.

"I'm sorry," he said, as the Doctor rocketed forward.

He caught him with a hefty punch, and as he fell, he placed him fireman style over his shoulder.

He turned back to the flames, and took a deep breath, and calling on all the gods of luck, he moved.

* * *

Gwen watched helplessly as the flames started to engulf the shuttle. She knew somehow that Jack was inside, but she couldn't get to the shuttle. Her way was barred by soldiers, and she'd tried to argue with the pig-headed sergeant that was in charge, but to no avail.

She was about to try again, when a shout came from the group of soldiers that were trying to put out the flames, and she heard Jack's voice.

"Get the hell away from him!" she heard him yelling, but was unable to break through the soldiers to help him.

"Don't you hurt him!" she screamed at the sergeant as he ran towards the shuttle.

****************

Jack had felt the heat of the flames as he passed through it, and hoped to god that the flames hadn't touched or done much damage to already frail Time Lord. He wasn't sure how he did it, but he managed to kick what was left of the shuttle door outwards, and fell out of the shuttle, the weight of the Doctor finally taking its toll.

He righted himself, only to find weapons in his face, and two soldiers trying to pick up the Doctor, who starting to come round.

"Get the hell away from him!" he yelled, but they weren't listening.

"He's a suspected terrorist, there are a dozen agencies want a piece of him!" the sergeant who'd barrelled round the shuttle with more soldiers yelled back. "And come to think of it, you're under suspicion too, restrain him!"

Jack could do nothing as the half-conscious Doctor was dragged away, and he himself was handcuffed and shoved forward.

They were both shoved towards an army transport, and Jack thought he heard Gwen's voice.

Any thought that he heard her voice, was shoved away as he was virtually thrown into the rear of the truck, right next to the Doctor, who was still only half-aware, and in a lot of pain.

Jack turned and glared at the soldiers that had roughly thrown the Doctor in the truck.

"Can't you see he's injured!" he yelled and went to touch the Doctor.

He wasn't surprised when the Doctor recoiled from him and the soldiers and crawled into the only free corner of the truck.

One of the soldiers laughed and gave him a good kick, in what to Jack seemed just for the hell of it.

The soldier was lucky that Jack was handcuffed, but he still managed to give him a 'touch him again, and I kill you, handcuffed or not' stare.

The soldier ignored the look and as if to spite Jack, stood up and managed to corner the Doctor, who was no longer handcuffed. He raised his foot to aim another kick, when what could be described as a feral sound came from the Doctor's lips.

With a snarl he launched himself at the soldier, and chaos ensued.

* * *

Jack was just as surprised as the soldier, both of them thinking that he was too severely injured to move, let alone launch himself at the soldier.

Before either Jack or the rest of the soldiers could react, the Doctor was on the soldier, and then suddenly past him, and aiming for the open end of the truck that was speeding along the dirt track.

"No!" both Jack and the other soldiers said together, but before anyone could reach for him, he was half-way out of the truck.

*******************

Gwen hadn't been watching the road, but when she heard the soldier driving the jeep she was in gasp, she looked up.

Her heart leapt into her mouth, and she had to blink, not sure if she could believe what she was seeing.

Hanging out of the back of the truck in front of her, clinging precariously to the sides of the truck was....the Doctor!

She eventually gathered her senses and shouted at the driver.

"Get closer, you can't let him get away!" she urged the driver on, as he put his foot down.

She watched as he tried to pull himself out of the truck, and she shook her head. He should be dead, either from the gunshot or from being buried under tons of concrete.

Her heart leapt again when she saw he was nearly free of the canvas, and looked like he was about to, no he wouldn't...he was going to jump.

She gasped as he leapt from the truck, just as what was definitely Jack launched himself through the canvas, and missed him by inches.

* * *

The Doctor had come to when the shuttle had crashed, the jolt had brought him back from the precipice.

He cried out at the severe pain in his chest, and then he remembered, someone had shot him through one of his hearts.

Why had someone done that?

Then the memories came flooding back in vivid black and white flashes, like a myriad photos.

Falling from the gate.....the hospital......Torchwood.... his dark side's assaults on Ianto...the cold water of the bay... the canisters...... his attempted killing of Jack......the fiery pain of being shot...........and............White Coat!

Rassilon... it was too much, he needed out, out and far from here.

When he'd heard the familiar tones of Jack's voice he'd recoiled, the horror of what he'd done too much.

The pain of the furnace hot metal of the shuttle shocked him into moving forward, and then he knew no more. Everything had been hazy since then, wrapped in the dulled world of pain from his rapidly healing heart and the still intensely painful burns on his back.

That was until the kick from the soldier brought him back to painful reality.

He wasn't in the shuttle anymore, but his instinct told him he was in danger, and the primitive side of Time Lord psyche took over and wanted out.

He saw the figure that had kicked him, advancing again, and with a feral snarl, launched himself at his attacker.

He saw behind him the open end of the vehicle, and barrelled past his attacker and out of the canvas.

He hung onto the side of the truck, and began gauging the speed of the truck, and how hard he would hit the ground.

He felt someone behind him, and without another thought...he jumped.

*******************

Jack knew instantly what the Doctor was going to do, and with a surge of strength snapped his handcuffs, twisted and launched himself after the Doctor.

He was seconds too late, and the Doctor jumped.

"No!!!!" he cried, staring at the empty space where the Doctor had been.

**Chapter Fifteen**

Gwen hung onto the dashboard as the jeep slewed to one side. It narrowly avoided the Doctor who, and god knows how he had, had landed running, and was away, into the trees that lined the dirt road.

Then the jeep slewed again to avoid Jack, who had not landed on his feet, but had rolled several times, right into the path of the jeep.

* * *

Jack shook his head, trying to clear it of the dizziness from the hard impact. He looked round, unsure of which way the Doctor had gone.

He heard the sound of someone running towards him.

"Jack!" a female voice shouted...it was Gwen.

"Did you see him?" Jack asked as she slid to a halt.

"Left, he went left. You better go, before this lot get their act together. I don't think they're in the ask questions later mood!"

Jack nodded. "Be careful, look after Ianto and Martha," he said, and ran off at speed, in the direction the Doctor had gone.

Gwen watched until he'd disappeared, and then the shouts of the soldiers drew her attention.

She turned, and putting on her most innocent face, she tried not to flinch as way too many angry and armed soldiers bore down on her.

* * *

White Coat had decided to backtrack, thinking that they wouldn't believe he would head back towards the ruined buildings.

He was about to leave the sanctuary of the trees, when he heard thrashing from the trees to his right.

He stopped, and to his surprise, his property burst out of the forest, stumbled and fell awkwardly.

White Coat fingered the collar in his pocket, if only his property was closer.

He decided that the gods must be with him, as his property stumbled again, then began running again.....straight towards him.

He felt for the collar again, and his finger brushed across.....the control device...of course!

He took the device out of his pocket and looked up...yes, his property was coming closer.

That's it....just a little closer White Coat thought.

His property entered the tree line, and was now only yards from where he was hidden....now he thought and activated the device.

His property let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees, and reacting quickly White Coat moved, and clicked the collar round his property's neck.

His property's face instantly became blank, devoid of even pain.

"Good, now get up, time for us to leave," he said and a satisfied smile crossed his face, when his property did just as he ordered.

Without another word White Coat turned and began walking, knowing that like a faithful hound, his property would follow.

He stopped when heard more crashing, from the same direction his property had come from.

He turned back, putting a hand up to tell his property to stay, and backtracked.

White Coat let out a hiss of anger as Captain Harkness stepped into the clearing.

"Oh no, not this time captain," he hissed and drew his weapon.

* * *

Jack flew into the clearing, hoping to see the Doctor just ahead. He'd been following the Doctor's tracks and thought he'd heard a cry of pain up ahead.

He was about to take another step forward, when he noticed a second set of footprints...someone had found the Doctor before him.

He looked up, just as the crack of gunfire filled the air, and he saw the flash of a muzzle...seconds before darkness and death took him.

*****************

White Coat looked down at the body of Jack and smiled.

"That should give us a little time," he said to his still docile property, who was staring blankly at the now blood soaked body on the floor.

White Coat looked up as the sounds of soldier voices were carried towards him on the wind.

"Time to move I think," he said, turning away from Jack's body.

He started to move away, but sensed that his property wasn't following.

"Come along," he said, and turned back when he didn't hear it following.

His eyes widened in shock, his property wasn't there, and neither was the body of Captain Harkness.

"Where are you!" he hissed into the darkness.

His blood ran cold when he heard the voice. It wasn't the voice of his psychotic property. It was the voice of a powerful Time Lord.

"Did you really think that your little collar would work? I'm a Time Lord, not the family dog!" his property's voice came from somewhere in the trees.

"I would kill you, but there really isn't time, and I have something more important to do."

"You can't override the collar, it's not possible," White Coat breathed.

"Time Lord, I can do anything I like. I have only one more thing to say to you, and I'd listen...run!" his property snarled.

White Coat didn't move, he wasn't going to let a piece of property dictate terms to him.

"I'll leave, but you belong to me. I will possess you again," he said, then turned and disappeared into the trees.

*****************

The Doctor watched as White Coat moved off, leaving him alone with the still dead Jack.

He knelt down, groaning with the pain that was still coming from his chest, and the pain from the blisters that were forming on his back.

"You had to come back for me, didn't you? You never listen do you?" he said sadly.

He knelt forward, kissed Jack, knowing that he would probably wonder who'd kissed him, and smiled gently.

"Goodbye Jack, you won't be seeing me again, with any luck," he said, and left his sonic and a key laying by his side.

"I'm sure you'll use the TARDIS wisely, she likes you."

He stood up, took one last look at Jack and moved off into the dark of the night and the forest.

*******************

Gwen heard the distant report of a weapon being fired, and ignoring the shouts of the soldiers she, ran.

She could hear the soldiers behind her, could hear their shouted orders for her to stop, but she ignored them. She needed to get to where that shot had come from, needed to see who had been shot.

She crashed through the undergrowth, not quite sure where the shot had come from, but she was sure she was going in the right direction. She slowed to a walk, so she could listen for any movement either from the soldiers behind her, or whoever or whatever was in front of her.

She stopped when she thought she heard footsteps behind, she held her breath and listened, but there was no sound, only the rustle of wind driven leaves.

She moved on, crossed the small clearing, and into the trees again, then stopped when she heard a low groan.

It came from her right, and she cautiously moved forward, and then in the faint glow of the moonlight she saw Jack, who was just sitting up.

"Jack!" she cried and was over in seconds.

* * *

Jack looked at her for a few seconds, confused at first.

Then it all came rushing back....the shuttle......the Doctor's escape.....the bullet that seared through his body.

He frowned........someone had kissed him. He sat up and felt something metallic. He looked down, and let out a cry of alarm and scrambled up, and saw Gwen, who was looking at him in concern.

"We have to go..........he's going to!"

**Chapter Sixteen**

The Doctor knew exactly what he was going to do. He had to rid himself of the micro-chip, and that would be just a little bit painful. He stopped and checked to make sure that there was no-one around.

He sat down, and rearranged himself into his meditation pose. He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths then looked inwards, into his own brain.

After a few moments, he saw it, a small dark shape in the brightness, its wires spread like black Tedarcra vine. This is going to hurt, he thought, and with a mental setting of his jaw, he reached for the first wire.

* * *

Jack had been trying to track the Doctor, but without success, the soil was to scant to leave footprints. Plus, he knew that if the Doctor didn't want to be followed, then he wouldn't be.

But the Doctor wasn't in his right mind, Jack was sure of that, why would he even consider doing what he was going to do, not after the last time, the thing that had started the whole nightmare of White Coat and the release of the psychotic side of the Doctor.

He was getting desperate, the longer the Doctor remained at large, the less chance he had of putting right what had gone wrong. If he had to lock the Time Lord in a cell, then he would, for eternity if he had to.

After the events in Tibet, he'd vowed never to lose the Doctor again, his Doctor. He loved him, even if the Doctor would never love him back.

He was near giving up, when he heard the cry. It was distant, but Jack recognised it, it was the Doctor...and he was in pain!

"This way!" he called out to Gwen and dove into the undergrowth.

* * *

White Coat had just skirted his way round the soldiers that were doing a sweeping search of the forest, when he heard the cry.

That sounded like his property, and it sounded like it was in pain. A smile crept over his face...it seemed not everything was lost he thought.

It was a good thing he always carried a spare he thought, as he took a collar from his pocket....time to repossess his property.

He was about to move when his mobile beeped. He looked at the screen and smiled.

"You're here, good. Follow the signal from my phone, come pick me up. I have something I need to retrieve."

* * *

Rassilon...this is agony, the Doctor screamed inside his own head. He could feel the micro-chip resisting his attempts, and he slowly realised that the micro-chip was not just a piece of software.

The thing was sentient!

It was triggering every pain receptor in his body, and it was screaming at him to stop. He could hear himself screaming, but he knew he couldn't.

He knew that if anyone was nearby, they would hear his screams, but he couldn't stop, not now.

He looked up, when he heard the sound of a helicopter. It didn't matter if they found him, they would be too late, it would be done.

He needed to be rid of the micro-chip, it was the reason his darker side could escape so easily, it could somehow tap into the part of his brain that controlled his metal stability, and that was not a good thing, not good at all.

But, he also knew that there was a risk. That part of his brain was delicate, and to tamper with it was a dangerous thing.

That had worried him. No-one should have been able to do that, no-one human at least.

Whoever it was must have known that opening that particular bottle, would let out a very bad genie. So, whoever it was, had done it deliberately, and that meant they deserved no mercy, not from him.

That was another worry, but one he couldn't deal with, not until he was rid of the micro-chip.

Until know, he hadn't been sure that he could be rid of it, but when he'd been tortured, and there was no other word for it, he'd seen a weakness in the chip.

It had however taken a gunshot wound to one of his hearts to afford him the opportunity to regain control of his own body. It was a little drastic, but it had worked, he would have to speak to Gwen, it wasn't her fault.

He lost his train of thought, as the pain became overwhelming, not just the pain in his head, but the sudden pain in his still undamaged heart!

He tried to get up, but his legs refused to work, and he stumbled, groping blindly for something to support himself.

He cried out again, as excruciating pain flashed across his heart, the pain was vice like in its grip...he was having a heart attack!

With another cry of agony, he forced himself up onto feet that would not obey, and with sheer force of will, made his legs move.

But he couldn't see, his vision was impaired, black and white flashes of pain strobing across his eyes.

Another vice like pain gripped his heart, and he staggered, this time unable to keep his balance, and with another cry of agony he fell, straight into the arms of someone.

"I've got you, let me help you," a voice said.

The Doctor thought he saw a flash of white, but he couldn't be sure, as his world turned black.

* * *

Jack had heard the cries of pain, and ran in the direction he thought they were coming from.

He stopped when it went silent, unsure of where to go. This allowed Gwen to catch up with him.

"Jack, where are we going?" she asked, once she'd regained her breath. "You don't even know if that was him."

Jack shot her a look, and she nodded... he knew.

Another cry rang out from somewhere up ahead. It was joined by the sounds of a helicopter landing.

"We have to move, we have to find him first!" Jack cried, and ran off again.

Gwen followed a few seconds behind him, but it was enough for him to get a good lead on her.

She saw him dive through a large bramble, and then she heard him let out an inarticulate roar of what sounded like pure rage.

****************

Jack had moved when he heard the Doctor cry out again, and this time he knew where the sound was coming from.

He dove into the thick bramble, not caring if it bit into his skin, not caring if Gwen could follow or not.

He burst out of the bramble and stopped, his body frozen in fear and panic.

Up ahead, in a small clearing, was the Doctor, unconscious.

But it was the person who had hold of the Doctor that Jack focused on......White Coat!

Rage burnt through him like a forest fire, and with a roar of murderous rage, he flew across the clearing!

**Chapter Seventeen**

White Coat could not believe his fortune. First his own security team had found him, one that was loyal only to him. Then he'd found his property, and by the looks of it, it was in a bad way.

He'd watched from the undergrowth as it had staggered across the ground, in obvious distress, its cries of agony echoing through the trees. If he played this right, he could play this to his advantage and sweep in as the merciful angel.

He waited in the undergrowth, allowing his property to suffer, until he decided it was the right time.

It didn't matter to him that it was a person in agony.

He didn't see the person in front of him as a person. To White Coat, if it wasn't human, it was nothing more than cattle, something to own and use as he wished...property.

He gestured for the burly security men to wait, and he stepped out of the undergrowth, just in time to catch his property as it fell.

"I've got you, let me help you," he said, putting as much gentleness in his voice as he could muster.

He was about to call the security men over, when a figure burst out of a bramble bush, stopped, looked directly at him, and with a roar of what could only be described as murderous rage, flew at him.

* * *

Jack saw nothing but White Coat, and the still, pale form of the Doctor in his arms.

Everything else was tinged with the red mist of rage, making him blind to all but that.

So he never noticed when what was more like a human mountain moved out of the undergrowth, and collided with him.

He reeled back, as if he'd been hit by a freight train, and fell back, towards the bramble.

He never reached it, the man mountain grabbed him and hauled him back, and physically lifted him off his feet, and he found himself being dragged back towards White Coat, who was pressing something against the Doctor's neck.

Despite the grip the man mountain had on him, he still tried to go for White Coat.

"Keep your hands off him, you bastard!" he yelled, only to be rewarded with a over-large hand clamping over his mouth, but he still struggled silently.

* * *

White Coat ignored Jack, until he's finished what he was doing. He'd run a small monitoring device over his property's head, and had been genuine surprised to find the micro-chip was gone.

"Clever, I'll have to find another way of controlling you, if you survive," he said.

He let his property's head fall back to the ground, unworried that it might do further damage.

He stood up and turned to face the still struggling Captain Harkness.

"I don't think you're in any position to stop me doing anything, Captain. Since I can't kill you, I'll have to find a use for you, bring him" he said to the man mountain.

A low groan drew White Coat's attention, and he knelt down by his property, which was starting to come round.

White Coat took what Jack thought looked like a syringe from his pocket, and held it to the Doctor's neck.

"Leave him alone!" Jack yelled, and was rewarded again with the over-sized hand over his mouth.

White Coat finished injecting whatever was in the syringe, and seconds later the Doctor stilled, and fell silent.

He stood up, and gestured to the two other security men. "You two, pick that up," he gestured to the Doctor.

He turned to the man mountain that was holding Jack. "Bring him, don't be too fussy if he resists."

* * *

Jack allowed himself to be pushed through the trees. He occasionally stole a glance backwards, and could see the Doctor being carried.

He was physically reminded by the way of a hefty shove from the man mountain, that he should keep his eyes forward.

Jack had noticed that their pace had increased, and he swore he could hear the faint sound of men's shouts in the distance.

The soldiers must be on their trail, which meant Gwen must be too, all wasn't lost then.

Time to act!

* * *

The man mountain was taken by surprise as Jack exploded into action. What he'd thought was a tight grip on his captive, disappeared, and he found himself reeling from a steady set of well aimed blows, and his captive was away and free.

Angered by the seeming ease at his escape, he reached for his weapon, but found it gone.

There were sudden shouts of alarm from the other two guards and White Coat, as bullets kicked up the dirt at their feet.

"Put the Doctor down, and back away!" Jack yelled, resisting the temptation for now to shoot White Coat between the eyes.

"Weapons on the floor, now!" Jack yelled, gesturing to the semi-automatics slung over the two remaining security guards shoulders.

"I will shoot you!" he shouted, reinforcing his point with a well aimed bullet at White Coat's feet.

"I'm giving you one chance to leave, because believe me, if the Doctor wasn't here, you would be dead!" he snarled at White Coat, who for a change actually look pale and worried.

White Coat gave Jack a cold smile, before speaking.

"Put it down gentleman, and back away. Another time Captain Harkness," White Coat said before slipping back into the undergrowth.

*****************

Jack watched as White Coat disappeared into the undergrowth, and he was reminded of only one thing as he disappeared......snake.

He dared not move, not until he was sure that they weren't doubling back. It seemed like an eternity before he dare move.

He gathered the discarded weapons, and quickly buried them, then turned his attention to the Doctor.

He knelt down beside the still form of the Time Lord. Even in the half-light he could see the Doctor was ashen grey. He touched his forehead, it was cold, in that not good cold sweat way.

He jumped when the Doctor moaned and pressed his forehead into Jack's palm. Jack thought he whispered something, and bent his head, so as to hear what the Doctor was saying.

Whatever he was saying it was incoherent, and Jack wasn't even sure it was in human anyway.

"It's okay, I'm here, he can't hurt you anymore, and if I see him again, I'm going to kill him, slowly, painfully. I saying this now, because I know you can't hear me. Because I know you'd never let me, because you care too much, even for a soulless bastard like him."

He stopped talking when he heard the shouts of the soldiers, and fear began rising in his gut.

He couldn't let the military get hold of the Doctor, they could do the same, if not worse than White Coat, he had to move.

"Sorry Doc, but this might hurt," he said, and standing up he gently lifted the Doctor, who gave a weak cry of pain at the movement.

He turned to move back into the dark of the forest, when he heard the rustle of undergrowth.

He felt panic starting to rise, he couldn't defend the Doctor or himself, he was stuck, not being able to go forwards or backwards.

The undergrowth directly in front of him began to move, and he tensed, waiting for the inevitable appearance of soldiers and guns.

A figure burst through, yelling all sorts of obscenities, and skidded to halt in front of him.

Relief washed over him......it was Gwen, but it was short-lived.

"We have to go, go now!" she yelled.

* * *

Gwen had frozen at the sound of Jack's rage filled roar, but still knew she shouldn't follow.

Instead, she crept slowly and as quietly as possible through the bramble, ignoring the thorns that bit at her clothes and skin.

She had to force herself to remain still, when she saw the huge security guard crash into Jack and haul him towards White Coat.

She had to force herself to remain quite, as she listened to the conversation between White Coat and Jack. She fumed as White Coat spoke of the Doctor as just a piece of property, and had to restrain herself, as the two remaining guards hauled a thankfully unconscious Doctor off the floor.

She followed the party at a safe distance, but had closed it a little bit, when she'd heard the soldiers gaining on her and the group ahead. She knew it would be like jumping into the fire, if the military got hold of the Doctor and Jack, she had to act.

As she was about to make her move, she heard several shots ring out, form the direction the group had gone.

That made her mind up, and she moved, not caring if they heard her, she burst through a patch of undergrowth, using her best policeman's language.

She skidded to a halt, when she saw only Jack, the Doctor in his arms.

"We have to go, now!" she yelled at Jack.

Jack frowned at her words, then he heard the sounds of others moving through the undergrowth, and without another word, he turned and ran.

The undergrowth was pushed violently back, and soldiers began to appear from it.

A man in a General's uniform stepped through, and looked at the melee of footprints on the floor.

"They can't be far," he said to the sergeant at his side.

"Find them, shoot to kill, but I want that alien alive!"

**Chapter Eighteen**

Jack ran faster than he really wanted to, but he had to. He could hear the shouts of the soldiers behind him. He could also hear Gwen, pushing herself to go faster.

He glanced down at his precious cargo, who thankfully was still out of it. He couldn't cope with running, and having a struggling, frightened, confused Time Lord on his hands.

Both of them had to duck, when bullets ripped leaves and branches around them.

Jack stumbled, nearly dropping the Doctor, as he tried to right himself. He dimly heard Gwen calling out.

"This way Jack!" she yelled.

He suddenly felt hands grabbing him, pulling him sideways, and he found himself in total darkness.

He felt the weight of the Doctor being lifted from his arms, and he collapsed in an exhausted heap.

"Gwen...?" he began to say.

"Ssh," she said urgently, and Jack froze when he heard footsteps.

"Look inside, they can't be that far ahead," a voice said.

Jack held his breath as the footsteps came closer, and panicked when the Doctor moaned.

Jack felt desperately in the dark, until he touched something solid.

The Doctor moaned again, louder this time, his voice echoing in the darkness.

Jack hurriedly felt his way up to the Doctor's face and placed a hand over his mouth. He felt the Doctor stiffen, and leant over and whispered in what he hoped was his ear.

"Ssh," he said as loud as he dare, and his eyes widened in shock as he felt sudden pain...the Doctor was biting his hand!

The pain was excruciating but he held his breath, and never moved.

*****************

"I swore I heard a voice."

"What in there? Nothing in there but bears."

"I guess, better catch up with rest, if there are bears."

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Jack held his breath as the footsteps started to fade away. He pulled his hand free of the Doctor. He didn't need to see to know that it was bleeding.

"Jack?" the Doctor said, and Jack heard a note of agitation and fear in his voice.

Jack went to answer, but froze when he heard the voices again.

****************

The two soldiers edged towards the edge of the cave, weapons at the ready.

"I knew I heard something, and it wasn't a bear," one of the soldiers said.

"You can go in first then. I still think it's a bear," the other soldier said.

"Okay, just make sure you've got my six," he replied.

The other soldier nodded and followed as the other soldier cautiously stepped into the cave.

* * *

Jack tensed as he heard the footsteps coming closer. He almost jumped when he felt the Doctor shift under his hand.

"Stay still!" he whispered, putting as much authority in his voice as he could get into an almost inaudible whisper.

The Doctor shifted again, and Jack had to place a restraining hand on the Doctor, who squirmed under it.

Jack was starting to panic, the soldiers were coming closer. He couldn't protect the Doctor and Gwen.

It was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder, and felt it give him a gentle squeeze...it was Gwen, and then her hand was gone.

A wave of horrific realisation washed over him, just as he heard someone move in the dark, and a voice rang out in the darkness.

******************

"Over here, come get me!" Gwen yelled and moved, making as much noise as a bear would have.

"Gwen, no!" Jack cried, but his shout was lost in the rattle of automatic gun-fire, and the angry shouts of the soldiers.

He threw himself to the floor, as bullets ricocheted round the cave, sparks flying where metal hit stone.

"Which way did she go!" a voice called out, and was given an answer, when running footsteps faded, heading towards the cave entrance.

"After her!" another voice shouted, and Jack heard two sets of footsteps recede.

"Gwen, no," he whispered, and reached out to reassure himself that the Doctor was okay, but his hand felt only hard rock, and an empty space...he was gone!

"No, no, no, this can't be happening," he said, feeling his way forward in the dark.

"Doctor!?" he hissed. "Where the hell are you?"

* * *

The Doctor could see the figure quite clearly, whoever it was, wasn't someone he recognised, but they did know his name.

He backed away, further into the cave.

The human's touch had been like fire, it hurt.

How did they know his name? If they knew is name, they might know other things about him, dangerous things.

He really didn't want to end up in some human research lab on a metal slab, he had to get away.

He moved again, and a searing pain burnt across his chest..... Rassilon, his hearts, they were damaged.

Had the human calling his name done this? Had he escaped from them? Why couldn't he remember? Had they wiped his memory?

He needed the TARDIS, where was she? Where were his companions? Where were Jack and Martha? Had the humans taken them as well?

He had to get away, find the TARDIS, find his companions and run.

Why couldn't he remember?

Then an image flashed across his mind, someone in a white coat.

Now he remembered, he was friend, an ally, someone he could trust. Someone he could turn to.

Now he knew what he had to do. He felt inside his pocket, and found what he wanted... that would do just nicely, he thought.

He watched as the figure crawled forward in the dark, hand outstretched, feeling his way forward.

With a slight smile, the Doctor placed what he'd found in his pocket on the floor. It scuttled across the hard rock, stopping only centimetres from the hand of the human.

The Doctor smiled again, when the human let out a surprised gasp, as the little metallic spider bit into his hand, and collapsed.

The Doctor stood up, ignoring the pain in his chest, stepped right up to the human, and crouched down beside him, picking up the little metallic spider.

He put his mouth next to the ear of the human, who was gradually losing consciousness.

"Don't come after me, you really don't want to annoy me any further. I can forgive you wanting to dissect me, I understand that. But when, and I say when, when I find Captain Harkness and Miss Jones, they better be healthy. Because, if they're not, you're world is going to learn the real meaning of an Oncoming Storm."

With that, he stood up, pocketed the metallic spider and walked into the darkness, and out of the cave.

* * *

Jack had felt the sting of something biting him, and he felt his muscles seize, and his nerves being paralysed.

But it wasn't whatever the toxin was that caused him to flinch in fear, it was the voice that whispered in his ear.

It was the Doctor.... the threat in his voice so real.....dear god, he didn't recognise him.....he thought he was the enemy.

He tried to move, but he couldn't.

He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't respond, and as he slipped into death, a single tear trailed down his cheek.

**Chapter Nineteen**

Gwen ran, using every tree and bush to her advantage. She could hear the two soldiers behind her. The further she could draw them away from the cave and the rest of the soldiers, the better.

However, she was rapidly running out of energy, she had to think of another way to keep them away from the cave. She slowed slightly, and up ahead she saw just what she needed, and with a slight smile, she headed straight for it.

* * *

The two soldiers slowed their pace, and began looking more carefully.

"She couldn't have gone that far, she must be around here somewhere."

"Wherever she is, she can stay there. She's done a good job as a decoy, the others are probably long gone. We have to go back, we're too far away from the rest of the unit."

"Yeah, she's probably not important."

"You go, I'll keep looking."

"Okay, be careful."

* * *

Gwen bridled at the 'not important' label, but held her tongue.

She watched as the other soldier moved away, in the direction of the now very distant platoon.

She tensed, waiting for the remaining soldier to move under the tree in which she was hiding.

She waited until he directly under the branch she was balancing on, and she dropped, sending the soldier flying.

To his credit, the soldier recovered quickly, but he made the mistake of thing that Gwen would be an easy target.

"Not important, my arse," she said, as she pocketed the soldiers hand gun and torch, slinging his rifle over her shoulder, and walked away, not giving the soldier a second thought.

She eventually reached the entrance to the cave, not really expecting Jack or the Doctor to be there.

"Jack?" she said, more hopeful than anything, and frowned when she heard the shuffling of feet.

She moved further into the cave, and despite the fact that it might not be Jack and the Doctor inside, she switched on the torch.

She let out a scream when a face loomed into the torchlight. She dropped the torch and reached instinctively for her gun.

"Gwen, it's me," a hoarse voice she recognised as Jack's filled the darkness.

"Jack!" she cried, and had to shield her eyes, when the torch she'd dropped was shone in her face.

"Thank god, are you okay, is the Doctor......" she began.

"I'm fine," Jack cut her off, and she could sense there was something not right.

"Jack, is the Doctor okay?"

There was silence, and then Jack let out a sorrow filled sob, and would have hit the floor if Gwen hadn't caught him.

"Oh Jack, he's not...."Gwen said softly, holding him tight.

She felt Jack stiffen in her arms at her unspoken suggestion.

"No, but it would have been better if he was, he....he...didn't...oh Gwen, he didn't recognise me...." Jack sobbed.

Gwen didn't know what to say, so she just held him in the darkness, letting him cry unabated, whilst she thought furiously. Something must have happened, something traumatic for the Doctor not to recognise Jack. An awful thought crossed her mind, had he regenerated in the darkness. She dismissed that thought, Jack would have noticed, you couldn't miss it.

Could it have been brought on by the events of the last few days, the return of his less than sociable self, the unforgivable torture by the NSA, and then the thing she'd never forgive herself for, her shooting him.

Then he'd had to endure god knows what out in the forest at the hands of White Coat.

All of it, the physical and mental trauma, it would have destroyed a human, probably killed them. It was a testimony to the Time Lord, that he hadn't, but it didn't make it any better.

Then it struck her, was it something that bastard had done.

She knew that they had to get back to civilisation, had to get back to Martha and an injured Ianto, the Doctor would have to wait. Time for Jack to get it together, she was going to have to cruel... god, sometimes she hated this job.

She took a deep breath. "Jack, we have other people to think about, or have you forgotten about Ianto. What do you think the military are going to him and Martha?"

Jack took a shuddering breath. "He's forgotten me...." his voice trailed off.

Gwen steeled herself, and spoke again. "I don't give stuff about him at the moment. I'm only worried about Ianto, he was hurt too."

Jack blinked in the torchlight, and looked at Gwen, his eyes shining with tears.

"Yan....he's hurt?"

Now Gwen was genuinely annoyed. "Oh, you'd forgotten, your precious Doctor comes first, even if it was him that hurt Ianto!" she snapped.

Jack's eyes widened. "He hurt Yan....I don't believe you."

Gwen could see the hurt in his eyes, but she had to press on. They really needed to get out of here.

"Oh, come on Jack, who else. You should have killed him!"

Jack backed away from Gwen. "No... I couldn't. He made me promise, back on Valnax... that I would.... if he ever....I never could."

Gwen didn't speak, had she gone too far, she couldn't do this anymore, couldn't be intentionally cruel.

She stepped forward and grabbed hold of Jack's hands, shocked when she found he was shaking.

"I'm sorry Jack, I didn't mean...I just wanted to get you..."

She stopped when her hand brushed across what felt like to puncture wounds on one of his palms. She took the flashlight from Jack, and illuminated the hand.

"Has something bitten you, was it a spider?" she asked, and frowned when she noticed what looked like small flecks of metal.

Jack let out a small shuddering breath. "I'm not sure, I felt it, couldn't see it...only heard the Doctor."

He stopped....frowned and a look that was a mix of realisation and anger crossed his face.

"It was a spider, just not a real one, it was one of his creations," Jack almost spat out the words.

"You mean the Doctor?" Gwen said.

Jack shook his head. "No, White Coat, I knew the Doctor's memory loss has something to do with him. He did something, that injection."

He looked up at Gwen.

"Enough of this, we're going to find Ianto and Martha, and then we're going to find the Doctor. Find the Doctor, and you'll find White Coat."

Gwen looked at Jack, but she didn't like what she saw. "Then what?" she asked.

"Then, I'm going to kill him," Jack snarled.

* * *

The Doctor stumbled along the path, his head feeling like it was going to explode.

Why couldn't he remember what had happened to him? Why were the last few day a complete blank?

Now, other thoughts were battling for attention in his head. The human in the cave, he was a stranger to him, wasn't he? Then why did he feel guilty about poisoning him? Had he known him?

Rassilon, why couldn't he remember?

"Why can't I remember!?" he cried, but only the trees and the stars heard him.

He stumbled again, righted himself, but caught his foot in an exposed root, and fell to his knees.

Pain shot through his chest, and he didn't even try to get up, he didn't have the strength. He let out a pain filled sob, and cried out again as pain shot, not just through his chest, but through his head.

Bright searing light burnt through his mind, and with it came a flood of memories, painful, awful memories....pain...rage....insanity....cruelty.....abuse....murder.... what he did for White Coat.

All done by his own hands!

"No, no!" he cried.

He tried to get up, but another searing pain ripped through his chest, and he fell to his knees...his hearts.

I'm dying he thought, and this far from the TARDIS, I won't regenerate. Not that it would be a bad thing.... better for everyone if he was dead.

Then no-one would be after him, no-one would have to kill or be killed because of him.

"Maybe it's time," he said aloud, more for his own benefit, as there was no-one to hear his words.

He managed to haul himself up, he couldn't die here. Even his body could cause trouble.

Find a place where they won't find your body, somewhere.....

He looked up, and in the distance he saw what looked like a range of snow capped mountains.

Yes, he thought, up there, let the snow cover his body, hide his bones.

Drawing on the last of his energy reserves, he forced himself to move, fixed his eyes on the mountains in the distance.

Yes, he thought, it's time.

**Chapter Twenty**

Martha had tried to focus on Ianto, not wanting to think about what had happened, back at the now destroyed complex.

She was trying her best to examine Ianto under the close scrutiny of two armed guards and a military doctor.

The head wound itself wasn't that serious, but she knew that it would have been the force of the blow that would have done any damage.

She was looking at the scans of Ianto's brain, and it didn't look good. There was a dark patch at the base of his brain, which she had no doubt was a pooling of blood, which meant a blood clot.

She turned away from the scans and looked at the doctor.

"Listen to me, this man needs surgery. If you don't believe me, look at the scans yourself. If we don't operate, he will die, and believe me, you really don't want that to happen."

The doctor looked at Martha, then at the scans, before turning away and picking up a phone.

Minutes later, Martha was walking at a fast pace beside the bed that was being wheeled along the hospital corridor. She still had the inconspicuous escort of armed soldiers, but at least Ianto was going to get his life saving surgery.

She only stopped when one of the soldiers grabbed hold of her arm, just as Ianto was being wheeled into the operating theatre.

"You stay out here," he said, and pushed her against the wall of the corridor.

She glared at him, but knew it would do no good to argue. She sank to the cold stone floor of the corridor, resigning herself to waiting. Her mind wandered, and her thoughts turned to where Jack and Gwen were and what, if anything had happened to them.

* * *

Gwen had stayed behind Jack as he stormed through the temporary camp and towards the tent that was acting as the nerve centre of the military operation.

Any soldier that got in the way was forcibly made to retreat at the wrong end of an automatic rifle. The soldiers followed, but at a discreet distance, weapons drawn, watching the pair, as they made their way towards the tent.

The sentry outside the tent, made the mistake of trying to stop Jack when he was in full pissed off mode.

Gwen stepped over him, giving the unconscious soldier an apologetic smile, and followed Jack inside the tent.

The commotion outside had drawn the attention of the officers inside, and they all looked as Jack burst through the entrance of the tent.

One of the officers stepped forward, blocking Jack's path.

"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded, but stepped back when he found a weapon aimed at his face.

"I don't talk to the monkey, I talk to the organ grinder," Jack snarled.

He heard the sound of weapons being armed behind him, he heard Gwen draw a sharp intake of breath.

He ignored them both, and kept his focus on the officer in front of him.

"Well?" he said.

"That will be me you want to talk to," a voice came from behind the officer, and a figure stepped out of the shadows of the tent.

"I'm General Stokes, United States Army, and who am I addressing?" the man said in a level tone.

"Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood," Jack growled.

General Stokes raised an eyebrow. He let out a sigh, and gestured to the soldiers behind Jack and Gwen.

"At ease, now would you kindly take your weapon away from my second-in-command's head Captain."

Jack took a few seconds to think about it, and then stepped back from the officer, and the tension in the room dropped by several hundred degrees.

"Torchwood, now what would an agency like Torchwood be doing, chasing a bunch of terrorists?" General Stokes said.

Jack gave him a mirthless smile. "Terrorists my ass, your after the same thing we're after, you're after the Doctor. Planning to use him as some sort of weapon, or are you going to strap him to a table and cut him open, see how he works, just like those poor bastards at Roswell."

General Stokes eyes widened slightly, but then again, why wouldn't Torchwood know about that. In fact, they probably knew more than anyone else, and if they were after this Doctor, then he must be as dangerous as they'd been led to believe.

"You do realise you're on American soil, and have no claim on the Doctor. He tried to commit an act of terrorism, that Captain Harkness makes him ours."

Jack looked the General in the eyes. "Listen, you can forget all that if it lands on our soil, it's ours crap. I didn't come here to argue, I've come here to make a deal."

General Stokes looked back at Jack, narrowed his eyes. "I'm listening."

"I know you would love to get your hands on the Doctor, but that would be a very dangerous thing right now. You would be way out of your depth, you'd never hold him, but we can."

General Stokes frowned. "I can't see how we'd be benefitting from letting you have a valuable asset like the Doctor?"

"You must have worked out that he wasn't working on his own. If I'm right, you've been looking for someone known as White Coat, weapons dealer, drug runner, bio-terrorist."

The General looked past Jack, and then nodded. "You're saying you can give us White Coat, how?"

"Because, you help me find the Doctor, I guarantee you'll find White Coat." Jack said. "I'll give you him on two conditions. I want sole custody of the Doctor, and I want Doctor Martha Jones on the next flight back to Cardiff, and Ianto Jones given the best medical care."

"In that case, we're ahead of you, on one point. Ianto Jones has already been treated, your Doctor Jones can be very forceful. Doctor Jones will be on the next flight back to the UK. But as for the Doctor, that is something I can't promise."

The General raised a hand as Jack bristled at his last words.

"I can't promise you that, because I can't make that decision. But what I can do is pretend I haven't seen the written orders I received, just long enough for you and the Doctor to disappear. If you give me White Coat, then I could easily look the other way."

Jack smiled at that, and nodded. "It's a deal then?"

"A deal," General Stokes said. "Now, how can I help?"

Jack smile again. "What I need, is some help in transporting a blue wooden box, and getting it here fast."

* * *

White Coat was fuming, he had his property back, only to lose it again. But if his luck held, the injection he'd given it would preserve the body until he could find it.

It was dying, you didn't have to be an expert to see that, but he still might be able to retrieve some invaluable genetic material. He could start his cloning programme again, iron out the wilful streak, go back to making weapons and money.

It riled him that he had to abandon his property. Captain Harkness was becoming a nuisance. He really should find a way of killing him, permanently.

He smiled to himself, it would give him a lot of perverse pleasure, if he could watch one of his property's clones kill him.

But first he had to find transport. He took out a small box, and the screen lit up when he touched it. A white dot moved across the screen.

"Still alive then. I hope you pass that stubborn streak on."

He put the box away and looked down the road. He'd sent his incompetent security guards on ahead to find the nearest town or some sort of civilisation. He needed to get to his own base of operations, needed his equipment and more men.

He sighed, at least he had an advantage, he took the tracking device out again, and this time he overlaid a map of the area onto the still moving white dot.

"Very clever, trying to hide, you must be nearer to death than I thought. No time to waste then."

He looked up the road again, but it was still deserted, time and his patience was running out.

*******************

Jack stood on the tarmac of the runway, watching the skies. He fidgeted with impatience, this was taking way too long, he really needed to find the Doctor.

General Stokes had been true to his word and had withdrawn his troops. But that didn't mean there wasn't still somebody looking for the Doctor....White Coat.

He jumped when his mobile rang, breaking his train of thought.

"Harkness," he said.

"Jack, it's Gwen, I'm at the hospital. Martha's okay and Ianto has just come out of surgery."

"Is he okay?"

"He's doing as well as can be expected, it'll be another twenty-four hours before they know anything. Don't worry about us, we're safe here, you find the Doctor, bring him back," Gwen said.

"If I can," Jack said sadly.

"Don't talk like that, you know the Doctor. Whatever that bastard has done to him, he'll fight it. I know you'll find him. I don't think it's his fate to die here, not yet, I can feel it," Gwen replied.

There was a few seconds silence, before Gwen spoke again. "I have to go Jack, they're closing the ward for the night."

"Okay, be careful, I never trust the military," Jack replied before ending the call.

He put his phone away, and once again looked up into the sky. He sighed, hoping that what the transport plane was picking up could help him find the Doctor, he really hoped she could.

His mind began to fill with awful thoughts, even if he found the Doctor, if he was alive, what would he do then?

If the Doctor was insane, or worse sane, but with no memory, could he keep him locked up forever? What would that do to a free spirit like him? Could he be that cruel? Or would be better if he was dead?

He suppressed a shudder, tried to push the thoughts from his mind, and once again looked up at the sky.

* * *

The Doctor hadn't wanted to stop, but his body was screaming at him. The pain in his chest had gone beyond his ability to cope with.

His whole body felt like it was on fire, but beneath that he could feel the dark edges of death, slowly but inexorably closing in.

He looked up at the not so distant mountain range. Not too far now, if he rested....just for a little while, he might have the energy to make it to the place he wanted to go.

"Just a little rest....it won't hurt," he murmured, and he closed his eyes.

A chill breeze swept through the glade that he had stopped in, ruffling his hair.

"What are you doing?" a voice suddenly said, causing him to open his eyes.

He looked round, but there was no-one.

Only the wind he thought, and closed his eyes again.

"What are you doing?" the voice said again, louder this time, and directly in his ear.

This time his eyes shot open, he recognised that voice.

He felt something brush against his face, it felt like and invisible hand.

He shuddered, the touch felt familiar...he must be hallucinating.

He closed his eyes, tried to ignore it.

"What are you doing?"

The voice had a sharper edge to it, was more insistent. Something in it made him open his eyes.

This time there was something, and he drew in a sharp painful breath.

"No...you can't be!" he cried.

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"No, you can't be, you're dead!" the Doctor cried, scrabbling back from the figure.

"Am I, you know we never really die. Again, what are you doing?"

"You're not real," the Doctor whimpered, and would have crawled up the tree he was laying against, if he'd had the energy.

The figure moved closer to the Doctor. "You know that's not true. As long as there's one of us alive, we'll never die. We're all in there," the figure said, reaching out and touching the Doctor's forehead.

The Doctor recoiled, the touch was like fire, cold black fire. Of all the people he could hallucinate, it had to be him.

"No...I won't...you're not..." he said.

The figure scowled and grabbed hold of the Doctor's hair, for a hallucination it was painful.

"For Rassilon's sake, you could never see what was in front of your nose. You haven't changed, always the same, and they said you were one of the brightest."

The figure laughed, and it sent shivers down the Doctor's spine, that voice, one he thought he'd never hear again.

"I'll ask again, what are you doing?"

The figure stepped back, a disdainful look on his face. "Is that it, you're just going lay down and die. I never took you for a coward, you've been round those apes for too long. You're a Time Lord, act like one, don't die like one of these stupid simians. If you die here, who am I going to have fun with?"

The figure smiled. "Of course, that hasn't happened to you yet...oh what joy! In that case, see you the other side of Mars."

The figure started to fade and that laugh faded with it.

The Doctor blinked unsure if the figure had been a hallucination or not.....Mars? What did he mean about Mars?

"No....it's just a...hallucination.....he's dead, they're all dead," he groaned.

He struggled to get up, the pain in his chest almost flooring him. If he was hallucinating, then time really was running out.

He forced himself to stand, and he looked up at the mountain range. A surge of anger filled adrenalin coursed through his weary system, and he started walking.

"Coward, I'll show him coward," he growled. "At least I won't get killed by a woman, so not a way to die."

He kept walking and the ground eventually started to rise, gently at first, but as the trees became sparser, the slope became more pronounced.

He stopped, just to catch his breath. He looked back at the forest.

The sun was just starting to creep over the tree line. He'd better hurry; it would soon be light enough for people to start searching for him.

"Can't have that," he said.

He started walking again, but he constantly looked back, half expecting to see, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, something, or maybe nothing.

He looked up at the increasingly looming mountain, knew it wouldn't be long, it would be over.

Unbidden thoughts rose in his mind, thoughts of Jack and Martha. Would they be looking for him?

Stupid question....of course they would. Their blind loyalty would make them follow him to the gates of hell.

"Not this time Jack," he said.

He stopped, the trees had now given way to bare ground and rocks, and up ahead he could see the first white glare of snow.

He sighed, and began what was going to be his final journey.

* * *

Jack looked up again, when he heard the rumble of an approaching aircraft. He had to shield his eyes from the rising sun, but he could just make out the huge black shape of a military transport plane descending.

He smiled, hope warming his chilled bones.

He waited anxiously as the plane landed, and went through its post-landing procedure. He looked round at the sound of a vehicle approaching.

A jeep was just pulling up, and Jack relaxed slightly as General Stokes climbed out.

However, he tensed again when he saw Gwen and Martha step out as well.

"I told you to stay away!" he snapped as they approached.

Martha scowled. "As if you could ever tell me what to do Jack. The Doctor never could, so you don't have a prayer. You'll need a doctor, and that's me."

She gave him her 'don't argue' glare and placed a bag on the floor.

"Don't even start on me," Gwen said. "You need help, I'm here to watch your back."

"But Ianto?" Jack said.

"Mr Jones is fine, he's in the best hospital in the military," General Stokes said.

"You should have locked them up, it's too dangerous," Jack snarled.

"I tried, but I really don't want to fill out the forms to report an assault on member of the armed forces, so they're here, whether you or I like it."

* * *

Conversation stopped when a wooden crate was deposited on the runway next to the small group, and a blue wooden box with the words Police Box written on it was revealed, when the crate was stripped away.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was a blue wooden box," General Stokes said.

Jack walked up to the TARDIS, and laid a hand on the wooden frame.

"Hello sweetness, I've missed you," he whispered.

He felt the TARDIS rumble under his hand, and couldn't help but smile at the response he would have got from the Doctor. Oh he wished he could hear those Estuary English tones of "Jack, stop it", and the disapproving arch of an eyebrow.

"I'm going to find you Doctor, whether you want me to or not," he said softly.

No-one heard him except the TARDIS, who trembled under his hand.

* * *

The TARDIS had waited patiently for her Time Lord, slowly repairing her damaged circuits. She had begun to worry when too much time had gone by.

She reached out to her Time Lord, and had panicked when she couldn't feel him. Then she reasoned that her circuits might not be at their strongest. Give it a little more time she had thought.

Then strangers had come and lifted her from the ground. She didn't have enough energy to fight them, so she had to allow them to take her. Her only hope was that her Time Lord would find her.

Now she was somewhere new, and when she felt the human that was the fixed point, her great heart lifted, here was someone who could help.

When she heard those whispered words, she knew she had been right to worry. She reached out once more, searching for that golden thread that was her Time Lord.

She saw the silver thread that was the fixed point, felt more than saw the others standing nearby. One must be a former companion, that figure shining brighter that the other two.

But she couldn't see the golden thread that was her Time Lord...no wait....there. It was faint, only a glimmer....why?

Her heart sank...not possible....her Time Lord....he was dying!

She felt something she hadn't in over nine-hundred years......fear!

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Jack opened the door of the TARDIS, took a step inside, and was almost overwhelmed by the psychic wave of emotion that washed over him.

He had to step back, and bumped into Martha, who caught him.

"Hey, someone behind!" she said, just seconds before she felt something......was that fear?

She joined Jack, who'd eventually stepped inside the TARDIS.

They both ignored the gasp coming from General Stokes, and the concerned enquiry from Gwen.

"Jack...the TARDIS...is she afraid?"

Jack walked up to the console and placed his hands on it. He suddenly shuddered as what he had felt coursed through his body......fear...misery...pain......intense pain.

He went to move his hands from the console, but found he couldn't................Christ...the pain!

Martha, Gwen and the General all jumped when Jack let out a cry, and fell backwards, crashing to the grating.

"Jack!" both women said together, and raced over to the stricken man.

Jack was curled in a ball, one of his hands clamped to his chest, and tears were streaming silently from his eyes.

Gwen knelt down beside him. "Jack, are you okay?"

Only then did Jack move, but it was to move away from Gwen, and crawl to one of the coral struts, and lean against it.

"So much pain...so afraid...so alone....no!" he cried.

* * *

The Doctor pulled himself up the snow covered slope, his feet slipping on the ice that lay under the thin layer of snow.

He felt his feet going from under him again, and with a frustrated cry he felt himself slip, and he slid down the slope, his chest painfully scraping against hidden rocks.

He hit the hard surface of the scree that he had managed to climb, and scrabbled uselessly for purchase, as he tumbled further down the slope.

A cloud of dust and rubble obscured his vision, but he knew what was coming, but he didn't have the energy to help himself.

The pain when he hit the wall of solid rock was intense, and his hearts faltered, and his cry of pain echoed round the mountain.

He lay, his face upturned to the sun, too exhausted to move, not caring if the sun burnt his skin.

It was a good a place as any to die, he supposed. Heat stroke, if his hearts didn't give out first.

"At least I won't be cold," he said, looking at a cloud that scudded past.

He closed his eyes, but opened them again, and they widened in shock.....the TARDIS!

How? She was thousands of miles away, and still repairing herself, unless...no...he couldn't have?

A wave of panic shivered through him. Had White Coat found the TARDIS and brought it here?

"No.....please," he groaned.

He forced himself to sit up, his whole body protesting at the sudden movement. If the TARDIS was here, then White Coat could find him and the nightmare would begin all over again.

"No, no, no, I can't...have to..."

He had to move, had to make sure he'd never be found. He looked up at the mountain again and scowled, he'd never make it up there, not again, he didn't have the strength.

But he couldn't let White Coat near him, not again. The thought of an insane version of himself in charge of the TARDIS, made his insides curdle.

He shuddered at the memories of the cannibalised TARDIS, after the not so tender ministrations of the Master.....the red glow of the Paradox machine...the Toclafane.

"No!" he cried, at the thought that his insane self would release that horror on Earth again.

He looked up at the mountain, he had to try.

Ignoring his body's protests he once again began the laborious climb up the scree.

He only got halfway, when he felt his strength give out, and he began the inexorable and painful slide back down.

His scream of anger and frustration echoed round the empty mountain. He dragged himself to his feet...he couldn't face climbing it again.

He needed to get away, even if he had to....then he remembered something he'd seen on the climb up.

It was miles back, back towards what he was running from, but it was the next best thing.

"Water, it's just as good as ice, not that I like drowning much. But beggars can't be choosers," he said, and gathering what was left of his strength, started to make his way back down the mountain.

* * *

Jack had forgotten to breath, and his brain suddenly kicked in and caused him to take a breath.

Dear god, the TARDIS wasn't just showing him her pain. She was showing him the Doctor's pain, a shared suffering.

It broke his heart.......he was never going to give White Coat to General Stokes, he would kill him before then, slowly and very, very painfully.

He became vaguely aware of a voice, no two voices, faint at first, but getting louder and the pain began to lessen.

****************

Gwen had looked on in shock, when Jack had collapsed to the floor. Now she was looking on worriedly as he lay against one of the coral struts.

"Jack, are you alright?" she said, kneeling down beside him.

She could see the look of intense pain on his face, and the tears that streamed down his cheeks.

She reached out and touched his arm, worried when he didn't react. She looked over at Martha, who had then same look on her face.

"Martha, he isn't breathing, why isn't he breathing?" Gwen said, starting to panic.

As if in answer Jack took in a sudden gasp of air, and seemed to be looking round, with a confused look on his face.

"Gwen, Martha, what am I?"

Then it came flooding back, with painful clarity.

He shot up and grabbed hold of the console, and looked up at the central column.

"You can feel him, can't you?" he said. "Can you find him?"

There was a rumble beneath their feet, and the column began to rise and fall, unsteadily at first, then with increasing strength.

Jack turned from the console to look at a confused trio. "We're going to find him," he said.

* * *

White Coat's patience was running out, it had almost been dawn before his men had returned. He wasn't sure where they'd found a helicopter, but he was glad that they had.

He was now impatiently waiting for his own transport, another shuttle to be loaded with his equipment and extra men.

"Hurry it up!" he snapped.

No-one answered back, no-one dared, well apart from one.

"They can't go any faster, patience," the woman who'd come to stand by White Coat said.

"Doctor Michaels, when did you arrive?" White Coat said.

"About three hours after your phone call. Is it true, you have a trace on Subject A again? He's still alive."

White Coat smiled. "Yes, that wilful streak can sometimes be an advantage. But we have to hurry, there are others searching for him as well."

Sarah Michaels nodded. It had seemed an eternity since that chamber in Tibet, she remembered it vividly.

They were about to board a shuttle, the Time Lord shackled and subdued, when there had been a flash of brilliant light, and her world had turned dark.

When she awoke, she was alone, no White Coat, no soldiers, and no Time Lord.

It had taken her many days to get back to civilisation, and all that time her hatred of the Time Lord had grown.

Not only that, she so wanted to get her hands on Jack Harkness, another unique being, an immortal. She wanted to cut him open, see how he worked, and she wanted the Time Lord to watch.

"Patience, my dear, you'll get you chance," White Coat said, as if reading her mind. "When I've finished with the good captain, you can have him. But I'm afraid the Time Lord is mine."

A guard ran up to him and informed them that they were ready.

"Good, about time to," he said.

Minutes later, he climbed into the seat next to Dr Michaels, and said to his security chief.

"Now, let's go find my property."

* * *

The Doctor clambered over the rocks that he'd traversed hours ago, heading towards his intended target.

He could hear it in the distance, the low rumble of millions of tonnes of water. He stopped, looked down at the ravine that would be his mausoleum.

"That's deep, blimey that's deep," he said, and slowly started to pick his way across the rocks.

* * *

Jack felt the familiar bump of the TARDIS landing, and was at the door before she'd fully materialised.

He stepped out, and looked round, but there was nothing, no sign of the Doctor.

He turned back to TARDIS.

"Where is he?" he said.

The picture that formed in his head was a jumble of emotions and images, flashes of rocks and snow and mountains.

Jack turned towards the mountains, and he narrowed his eyes.

"He's up there, where?"

He got no answer from the TARDIS, only a question mark in his mind, she didn't know.

Jack looked up at the mountains, and his heart sank.....the Doctor could be anywhere.

***************

The Doctor stopped, had he felt something, something at the edge of his mind. He reached out, but recoiled....the TARDIS, she was trying to find him.

"I'm sorry, not this time old friend," he said.

Closing his eyes, he deliberately shut the TARDIS out, and with a heavy heart he ignored the cry of panic from his old friend, and continued walking.

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

White Coat looked at the tracking device in front of him and frowned. His property was no longer ascending the mountain, it was going back down.

A small nagging worry entered his mind. Had his property changed its mind? Or was it like the wounded animal, attempting one last defiant strike at the world?

His thoughts were interrupted by his head of security.

"Sir, we're approaching target area, but we're detecting a disturbance in the temporal skin. Do you still want us to land?"

White Coat looked at Sarah Michaels, they both knew what that meant. Something with the ability to travel between dimensions or worlds had arrived.

They exchanged a worried frown, had White Coat's former employers caught up with him?

"We can always come back, the tracker will tell us where the Time Lord is. We can stay hidden until they stop looking, the base is shielded."

"No, if they get to my property first, it will be lost. Keep going. I want it back," he said to his security chief.

* * *

The Doctor felt like he'd been walking for hours or it could have been minutes. Without his link to the TARDIS, his time sense was off-kilter.

He felt another twinge in his chest, and his hearts started beating out of time. He took a deep breath, and willed his hearts to beat in time.

A wave of dizziness threatened to floor him, but he stubbornly refused to give into it. He looked ahead, but still couldn't see the waterfall, but he could hear it.

"Must be around here somewhere," he said.

He was about to move, when he heard the sound of an engine in the distance. He frowned, it wasn't the TARDIS, but it wasn't a man-made engine either.

He took a few seconds to listen to the sound, where had he heard that sound before?

He kept walking, but stopped suddenly when it came to him where he'd heard that engine before.

"No, no, please no!" he cried and started running.

*******************

White Coat was still looking at the tracker, it was almost constantly white, his property must be close.

"Sir, target spotted, one hundred metres to our right, along the edge of the falls."

White Coat and Sarah Michaels moved to the window, and sure enough, there was White Coat's property, trying to run, whilst looking up at the sky.

"He's still alive!" Sarah Michaels exclaimed. "You say he was shot in one of his hearts. His regenerative capabilities must be remarkable. I can certainly use that."

"We have to catch him yet. A cornered, injured animal is unpredictable. Land just beyond those trees, he has no-where to go," White Coat instructed the pilot.

* * *

The Doctor looked up and saw the shuttle turn and move back towards a line of trees. He only took his eyes of the rocky ground for a moment, but it was too long.

He stumbled and fell, hitting the ground hard with his knees and cried out seconds later as pain shot through his left leg.

He could almost feel the waterfall, the raw power of it.

He gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself up, it was agony.

If he had to crawl, he would. He couldn't hear the shuttle anymore, and knew it must have landed.

He had to move, he knew that once they spotted him, he wouldn't be able to out-run them.

Panic and fear of being caught by White Coat drove him on.

With a groan of pain he moved, his mind set on reaching the still unseen falls.

******************

White Coat looked at the tracker again, as they picked their way across the rocky ground.

His property was proving difficult to find, that was a dangerous trait. The longer he remained free, the more chance there was that someone else would find him, and he couldn't have that.

He looked over at Sarah Michaels, his Head of Research. He'd been very fortunate in recruiting her, she was an asset. Her knowledge of genetics were almost on a par with his, but even his knowledge was as nothing in comparison to the knowledge that his property possessed.

He could only hope that if his property did not survive, its knowledge would be passed on as genetic memory.

He looked up when a shout came from further up the slope, and moved quickly when a volley of shots rang out.

"No weapons!" he yelled and hurried up the slope.

* * *

Jack looked round as Martha, Gwen and a still amazed General Stokes stepped out of the TARDIS.

"That thing is amazing!" General Stokes exclaimed. "I can't wait to show this to the tech guys at Blackstaff!"

All three rounded on him.

"No way!" Martha shouted.

"Not while I'm still alive!" Gwen added.

Jack stepped right up to the General. "The TARDIS is not part of the deal. You get White Coat and no-one else."

The threat in Jack's voice was very obvious, but the General didn't flinch.

"If you can give me White Coat, you can't even find the Doctor."

Jack said nothing, just stared at the General.

He turned away, closed his eyes, trying to sort out the jumble of images the TARDIS had poured into his mind.

"Come on, old girl. You must know where he is," he muttered.

His own psychic abilities were nothing in comparison to the Doctor's, but the time he'd spent in the TARDIS had improved what skills he did have.

But the images that had flashed through his mind were a jumble of words and pictures. Snow...rocks....water.....pain...separation....desperation.

Wait a minute, water? That was new...was the Doctor near water?

Jack ran past a confused Gwen and Martha, and shouldered General Stokes out of the way, and disappeared back inside the TARDIS.

The others went to follow, but the door slammed shut in their faces.

"Jack, open the door," Martha said, pushing against it, finding it locked.

"Jack, open the door!" she shouted, now thumping the door.

*****************

Jack had been too busy trying to bring a map of the area up on the screen, that by the time he heard Martha's incessant thumping on the door and her pleas for him to open the door, it was too late.

The central column began to shift, and the steady thrum of the ancient engine filled the room.

"What are you doing!?" he yelled, pushing and pressing button ineffectually.

"Stop!" he cried as he felt the TARDIS start dematerialising.

He went to touch another button, but was stopped by a short electric charge.

It was the TARDIS equivalent of 'don't touch', and Jack had the sense not to ignore the warning. She must have her reasons for locking the others out, he would have to wait and see.

Could it be she knew where the Doctor was? If so, why did she shut the others out?

It looked like he might get his answer pretty soon, as he felt the thump of the TARDIS landing.

He walked down the ramp and opened the door. He stepped out, and found himself getting very wet.

He wasn't just at the water, he right next to it, and the wet was the spray from a huge waterfall.

He frowned, why had the TARDIS brought him here, and then over the rumble of the water he heard gunfire.

* * *

The Doctor had made it to the edge of the waterfall, he looked over the edge and his head started to swim slightly.

He couldn't decide if it was a sudden attack of vertigo, or his hearts starting to fail, or blood loss from the bullet that had bit deep into his back.

He was sure he'd managed to evade the men that were advancing along the rocky path.

He'd heard and smelt the men before they came into view, and looked for somewhere to hide, but there was none, only the sheer drop of the ravine that held the waterfall.

He felt panic start to rise, but then he spotted what looked like an easier way down to the edge of the waterfall.

He'd ran as fast as his struggling hearts would allow, and began climbing down.

He flinched when a bullet sent rock dust into the air.

"Stop!" a voice called. "Stop now!"

The Doctor didn't stop, but moved closer to edge, saw a safe-ish landing place and jumped.

Fiery pain shot through his back, and he landed in a painful heap on the ledge, the force of the bullet that hit his back throwing him off-balance.

He went to cry out, but bit his lip to hold it in, as he heard footsteps above.

He suppressed a shiver when he heard a familiar voice.

"I said no weapons!"

The Doctor looked up and saw a face he never wanted to see again. On seeing that face, he edged closer to the end of the ledge.

*****************

White Coat leant out, looking down at his property, which was slowly inching its way towards its certain demise.

"There you are, now behave yourself and come away from there," he said.

His property hesitated for a second, and then did something he should have expected.

* * *

Jack looked up when he heard the gunfire, and what he saw made his heart almost stop.

Hundreds of feet above, just within eyesight was the Doctor, standing precariously on the end of a ledge, with nothing but the waterfall and jagged rocks below.

"Doctor!" he yelled, but his voice was lost in the roar of the water.

He looked round, panic setting in as he looked for a way to climb up, but there was none.

He looked up again, and this time his heart did stop.

"No!!!!" he screamed as he watched a figure plummet into the raging waterfall.

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

White Coat scowled, he hadn't truly believed that his property would do what it did, and it had surprised him, no shocked him, but only for a few seconds.

He turned away from the ledge and addressed his security.

"Get down there, find him. Bring back the pieces if you have to!" he snarled.

He caught one of the men by his arm as he moved past.

"I told you, no weapons," he said, and with his free hand took out his own weapon and shot the man in the head.

"You cost me valuable property, irreplaceable property. Your life is hardly compensation," he said, and stepped over the body.

He turned back to the ledge, and looked down, but all he could see was the churning water.

"A pity, you were more valuable alive than dead."

He turned at the sound of someone's approach, it was Sarah Michaels.

"Don't worry, I can still extract DNA, it doesn't matter about the condition of the body," she said.

White Coat scowled. "Your process is far from perfect. You haven't forgotten the defect in your last batch. I need willing and obedient servants, not a surly, wilful pack of dogs!"

"It's not my fault you couldn't exorcise that wilful streak. It's your technology that's at fault!" she snapped back.

White Coat smiled, moved closer and ran a hand down her cheek. "Always ready to defend your work. I always liked that in you. However, I fear my little toys may not be needed. If it managed to survive, it will most certainly be damaged beyond repair. I think we should join the search," he said.

He offered her his hand, and they began the precarious climb down to water.

* * *

"No!" Jack cried.

Terror ripped at his insides, as the realisation that there was nothing he could do cut through his shock.

He angrily rounded on the TARDIS.

"Why did you bring me here, I can't save him!" he screamed.

But there was only silence from the wooden box, only the rumble of the water breaking the silence.

Jack gave the TARDIS a savage kick, causing splinters to fly. "Your precious Time Lord is dead!" he cried Why didn't you stop him!?"

He staggered back as a flood of images and words suddenly poured into his head.

"Separation...abandonment....regret...fear....White Coat.

Anger flashed through Jack at the image of White Coat, but it wasn't his anger, it was the TARDIS.

Save him....not gone yet...can't save...save him!

The tone on those words sounded desperate and forlorn, and the image of a body washed up on a small dirt ridden bank flashed through Jack's mind.

Save him...cannot...my Time Lord...save him!

Jack's legs went weak with disbelief...could he still be alive? The TARDIS wouldn't lie, would she?

He felt a gentle nudge in his mind to move and go right. When he didn't move, he was physically shoved, and the images of armed men and the flash of a white coat were burnt into his mind.

Jack moved, and at speed, urged on by the emotions the TARDIS was giving off in waves.

* * *

The Doctor had fully expected to die, when he had jumped. In fact, he was counting on it, and if he was lucky enough, his body would be swept far enough so as never to be found. He'd remained conscious as he fell, but had lost that particular battle when he had hit a large rock at the bottom of the fall.

When he opened his eyes, he expected to be in the after-life, well, the Time Lord version. What he wasn't expecting was to be half out the cold water, and half on a dirty muddy bank.

Despite his overwhelming desire to finish it, instinct took over and he hauled himself out of the water, his body screaming its exhaustion.

He dragged himself up the muddy bank, and collapsed against a half-rotten tree stump. He lay still, allowing his body to calm itself, and as it did, he felt the exertions of the last two days flooding in.

He could feel the uneven beats of his hearts, and his back was on fire. He shifted, sending pain shooting down his legs.

"Not paralysed then," he said.

He began to wonder if he would be able to die, no matter how much he wished it. Did fate have other plans? Shouldn't he be dead, at least twice by now? And what did that hallucination mean about Mars?

He shook his head. "Stupid old fool, listening to a hallucination."

He moved again, and pain once again burnt through his spine.

"Have to get rid of this," he groaned, and reached behind him, trying to find where the bullet had entered his back.

He let out a small cry of frustration, the wound was just out of reach.

"If you won't let me die, you could at least stop using me as target practice!" he yelled into the sky.

He tried to stand, but couldn't lift his own weight off the ground. "Is that it, not going to let me drown, but I can die of exposure!" he yelled, but fell silent when he heard voices up above.

******************

"I swore I heard something."

"It's just the water, keep moving."

"No, I know I heard a voice. I'm going to look."

"Fine, don't expect me to rescue your ass."

**************

The Doctor felt a twinge of panic, knowing the voices could only belong to White Coat's men.

He tried to move again, but his spine flatly refused.

"No, please...I can't..." he said and tried once more to get up, and failed.

He could hear the sound of someone making their way down the rocky incline, and panic filled fear coursed through his body.

*******************

The guard continued down the steep rocky path, absolutely certain that he had heard a voice.

The ground was slippery, so he moved carefully, and as he approached the bottom of the slope, he knew he'd been right.

Lying against the remains of a tree, with a look of fear on its face was the boss's property.

He smiled and moved closer, thinking of what size of reward he would get for finding it.

The property tried to move, but let out a pain filled sob.

"Please...let me go," it was saying.

The guard reached the property and without warning or provocation slammed the end of his weapon into the property's face.

"Shut it!" he snarled, and reached for his radio. "Boss, I've found it."

*******************

White Coat really believed that fortune was on his side. Within the space of eight hours, he had lost and now found his errant property.

The radio message that it had been found was most welcome. Truth be told, he preferred his property alive, copies were never as good as the original.

"Well done. I can see a large bonus in your pay as soon as we get back. Guard him until we can get there."

He gestured to the men that were with him, and they went on ahead.

He turned to Sarah and smiled. "It seems you will have a live subject after all."

Sarah stopped. "He's still alive. The survival gene must be strong, I can certainly use that."

"Patience, first we have to retrieve, and I don't think it's going to come willingly."

* * *

Jack moved at speed across the slippery rocks. He dare not think about the Doctor being alive, in case he died before he could find him.

The images in his mind were still strong, and the distress he felt from the TARDIS was worryingly real.

He had to slow down as the ground became more water and mud than rocks, and it began to hinder his progress.

He stopped suddenly when he heard voices from above, they were indistinct, but they were definitely nearby.

The Doctor must be nearby...he was sure of it.

"Doctor!" he called and went to move again, but froze when he felt cold steel against his neck.

"Don't move," a voice said in his ear, and Jack knew no more as darkness descended.

**Chapter Twenty-Five **

Jack came too and found he was being dragged across the muddy surface. When the person realised he was awake, he was hauled up and then dragged again, by the same man mountain that he'd encountered in the woods.

The man mountain was sporting a very large bruise from their last encounter, and was in no mood for any resistance. So Jack resigned himself to insulting everyone, from the man mountain's mother to the origin of his parent's species.

He only stopped cursing when they rounded a bend, and he saw a sight that simultaneously lifted and sunk his heart.

The Doctor was alive, although he didn't look too healthy, but he was alive. But walking towards the Doctor was the one person he wanted to strangle...White Coat.

He watched helplessly as White Coat inspected the Doctor like he was a piece of prize livestock.

His stomach tightened when he saw White Coat take out an object that Jack had last seen under a volcano on a planet too far away.

His heart ached when he heard the frightened and pathetic whimper coming from the Doctor, and saw the look of abject fear on his face.

He could only listen to the words coming from White Coat, and watch as that evil thing was placed round the Doctor's neck.

It wasn't until he heard the agonised cry from the Doctor that he reacted.

* * *

White Coat had been surprised, then delighted when Captain Harkness had been dragged, cursing and struggling into view, just as he and Sarah stepped onto the muddy bank.

He looked over at his property, which was being dragged off the ground, and saw the look on its face at the sight of Captain Harkness. It appeared to be in pain, probably from the gunshot wound to its back, but at least it was alive.

He walked over to his property, and looked it up and down.

"You know you shouldn't run, you know there's going to be consequences."

He turned back to Sarah. "The collar, if you please."

Sarah placed the bag she was carrying on the floor and produced a metal case, and handed it to White Coat.

White Coat opened the case and smiled when he heard his property give a small whimper, probably one of fear, as it saw what he took from the case.

"You remember this don't you, you know what it does. Your constant wilfulness is becoming a problem. Remember what I said, disobedience cause pain, and you have been disobedient."

He reached forward and placed the collar on his property's neck, and stepped away. He took out a small box and slowly twisted the dial.

His property, to its credit suffered the pain without sign for all of thirty seconds, but finally succumbed to the pain, and the cry of agony that escaped his lips would have torn at anyone's conscience.

Neither White Coat nor anyone else in the group had a conscience...except for Captain Harkness.

The shot that rang out echoed round the ravine.

White Coat gave the body of Captain Harkness a contemptuous look.

"Bring that, time for us to leave."

* * *

The light was way too bright Jack decided when he opened his eyes. Wherever he was, it wasn't the wilds of the mountain.

He would have shielded his eyes, except his wrists were shackled and so were his ankles, by the feel of it.

He would have looked, but a large collar round his neck stopped him. The collar was also chained to the wall, along with the other shackles.

"Normally I'd find this deeply erotic, but...get me the hell out of these!"

His yell was answered by a door opening, and someone stepping in.

"Ah Captain Harkness, with us at last. I must say, that is a handy trick you have there. Were you born with it, or was it something my property did to you?"

Jack's hackles rose at the voice, and bile rose in his throat, as the person who belonged to the voice walked into view, and stopped in front of him.

Jack strained against his shackles. "What have you done with him you bastard!" he yelled.

White Coat took a step back. "What I do with my property is none of your business. But if you must know, I have repaired the damage your so called professionals did. The hearts were severely damaged, almost irreparable, for which they will suffer. No-one damages my property but me."

Jack's temper flared. "He's not your property!"

White Coat smiled. "Really, is it yours then, you do sound rather proprietary."

He stepped closer again and looked in Jack's eyes.

"Why is that, I wonder? Ahh, there it is, you have feelings for it. Is it some kind of pet, or is it more....a bed warmer perhaps?"

Jack snarled and lunged for White Coat again, but he was too fast.

"Interesting, this may prove useful, thank you captain," he said, and walked away, Jack's threats and curses ringing in his ears.

* * *

White Coat entered the medical section of his base. He rarely came down here, preferring his own private laboratories.

It was the smell, the mixture of antiseptic and other things. Dr. Michaels was many things, but ethical wasn't one of them.

However, she was brilliant at what she did and her repair work on his property was outstanding. He walked past several rooms, the contents of which were of no interest to him, not yet anyway.

He stopped outside a door and punched a code into a panel, and waited whilst the door hissed open.

He entered the room to find Dr. Michaels, and another medic treating two of her staff amidst a scene of chaos.

There was also a lot of noise coming from a glass partition to his left and he walked over.

He saw his property almost crawling up the wall of a corner, and two more of his men trying to approach him.

One of the men got within arm's reach, but jumped back with a yelp of pain, holding one of his hands, blood dripping through fingers.

Scowling at seeing that his property was collarless, he rapped on the partition and gestured for them to leave.

His rapping caught the attention of his property, and the look it aimed at him was venomous and full of hate.

Without warning it launched itself at the glass, causing the whole pane to shudder, blood and spittle covered it.

White Coat stepped back, feeling slightly uncomfortable, even if the flexi-glass was nigh-on unbreakable.

"Explain," he said to Sarah, his tone suggesting no lies. "Why is he collarless and so aggressive?"

"I took it off when I did the surgery. The anaesthetic wore off quicker than I thought, it attacked the orderlies. We haven't been able to get near it since, it's been too aggressive."

White Coat looked back at his property and the look on its face spoke volumes, if there wasn't a barrier between them, he was sure his property's hands would be round his neck.

"This is not right, it shouldn't be this aggressive," he said, listening to the growling coming from his property.

Sarah sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think it's a basic survival instinct. Every species has it, no matter how advanced they are. I think the trauma of the last few days has hit home."

"So, he's running on instinct. This is unacceptable, I need it thinking, it's no good to me like this. Can it be fixed?"

Sarah hesitated before speaking. She could hear the annoyance in his voice, knew how much he hated not being in control.

"I was thinking, and it's just an idea. You said that you think Captain Harkness has feeling for it. What if, and it's just a theory, what if the feelings are mutual."

White Coat never took his eyes of his property, which was pressed against the glass, a predatory look on its face.

"You believe that if we put the two together, it will become calmer, more co-operative?"

"It's worth a try. Sometimes the carrot is better than the stick."

White Coat thought about it, his eyes never leaving his property. It was a risk, but he needed his property coherent and co-operative. If it took the risk of exposing his property to Captain Harkness, then so be it.

*******************

The Doctor had frozen in shock when he saw Jack being dragged towards him. He was distracted by Jack's verbal abuse, so he didn't hear White Coat's words properly.

It was only when he heard a metal case being opened, that he looked.

When he saw what White Coat had in his hands, fear ran through him like ice.

His hearts thudded in his chest and he couldn't stop a whimper of fear escaping when the collar was placed round his neck, and saw White Coat take out a small box.

The pain was intense, but he tried to bear it, knowing that Jack would react to his pain.

He tried, he really did, but the pain became unbearable and he cried out, and he knew Jack would react.

The shot that rang out cut through his hearts, and the blood that seeped from the hole in Jack's head stained his soul.

What spirit he had was shattered, and he allowed himself to be dragged, all fight gone from him.

Soon darkness fell and he knew no more.

*************

The darkness started to fade, but as it did something stirred, something ancient, something angry, something savage, something unforgiving.

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

As the darkness lifted, uncontrolled, un-tempered rage flooded through him, drowning out the logical side of his Time Lord physce.

The people that were trying to restrain him stank of fear and weakness. He lashed out, causing them to scatter.

He'd been left alone after that, for a while anyway.

Then two more had entered, and he'd injured one, and caused the other one to flee. He had watched with interest at the chaos he had caused.

Then it had gone quiet, until the door opened again, and two more entered. These two were different, they didn't stink of fear, they stank of death.

He'd fought them, but his struggle was short and violent. He'd been dragged from the room, and into somewhere else, and was left alone.

He was hurt, he could feel it, his two protagonists had been none to gentle. He tried to stand, but one of his legs wouldn't work properly. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he fell heavily to the floor, and the darkness of oblivion took him

* * *

Jack straightened as the door to his cell opened. He reined in his temper, when White Coat and two armed men walked in.

He blinked in surprise and suspicion when White Coat removed his shackles and collar.

"It seems I have a use for you after all Captain Harkness."

Jack was pushed ahead of the two men, but behind White Coat. His fingers itched to wrap themselves round his slimy neck, but the weapons trained on his back stopped him.

So he concentrated on memorising the route from his cell to wherever he was going. He noted every door as a possible escape route. He also noted the security wasn't as heavy down here. That was something he could use.

But it would all be for nought if he couldn't find and bring the Doctor with him. He stopped looking round when they entered what looked like a laboratory.

"Captain Harkness, you remember Dr. Michaels?" White Coat said, as a woman turned from whatever she was doing.

Jack glared at her, leaving her in no doubt as to her fate, if he was free.

"Is it still aggressive?" White Coat asked.

Sarah nodded. "We had to move him from the infirmary to the secure room. Until ten minutes ago, he was still spitting out pieces of one of you men. Now he's out of it, but I can't guarantee he won't be the same."

"Then we'd better get on with it, bring him," he said and walked further into what turned out to be a labyrinth of rooms and doors.

* * *

White Coat stopped outside one of the doors and turned back to Jack.

"Since threatening to kill you would be a waste time, I'll get straight to the point. You have feelings for my property, so I'll be blunt. My property has become shall we say, unsociable, and I find myself in need of your assistance."

"If you think I'm helping you...."Jack began, but was cut off by White Coat.

"If you don't help me, I will be forced to use more brutal methods, and I really do want my property to have some independent thought. Besides, I can't have a broken tem..."

White Coat bit of his words when Dr Michaels shot him a look, which didn't go unnoticed by Jack.

"So Captain, it's your choice, help me control my property or he'll become a walking cabbage."

Jack glared at White Coat. "What choice, I'll do it," he said, grinding his teeth in frustration. But if it got him closer to the Doctor, he'd make a deal with the Devil.

"Excellent, open the door," White Coat said. "I'll leave you two alone. I hope it doesn't hurt you too much."

* * *

Jack was shoved through the door, and before he had chance to turn, it was slammed shut. He could hear the locks moving into place, so turned his attention to the room he was in.

He'd expected it to be empty, but to his surprise and consternation it wasn't.

In one corner, looking very much like a set of crumpled old rags was the Doctor, and by the look of his movements, and the whimpers of what sounded like fear, he was in the middle of a dream...no nightmare.

He moved over to the Doctor and sat down next to him, unsure of what to do. So he pulled the Doctor away from the corner and wrapped his arms around him.

"Ssh, it's okay" he said quietly, taking in the various cuts, the drying blood and the already forming bruises.

Oh, they were so going to pay.

***************

The darkness had gone, now it was fiery red. The smoke was burning his nostrils his throat, his eyes. He stumbled through the smoke, the screams of the dying and those awful metallic shrieks tearing at his soul.

"Exterminate, Exterminate, destroy the Cruciform. Exterminate, Exterminate!"

He'd fought alongside his fellow Time Lords, but one by one they had died, falling in a blaze of green light, their skeletons flashing in an X-ray of death.

Now he was alone, and he knew what he had to do, knew what his mission was.

It wasn't his duty, but the one who was duty it was had ran, like the weak spineless Time Lord he had always been.

Now it was up to him, it was going to be his burden, his curse.

He looked ahead and saw the familiar box shape of his ship. He stopped, turned and took one more look at the burning glass dome that had been his home, and as shapes began to move in the smoke, he stepped into his ship and...............

He pressed the button and he screamed in agony as time was torn apart, and it writhed and twisted like an injured animal.

He felt his very existence waver and start to fade, as the screams of a thousand worlds echoed in his mind.

Rassilon...let me die!

Suddenly the pain began to fade, and the screams began to fade and he felt warmth wrap itself around him.

It was familiar warmth, one that started to disperse the rage that had overrun him. He turned and fled from the darkness and the fire and his own guilt, and ran towards the warmth.

*******************

Jack had sat with the Doctor in his arms for what had seemed like hours, praying to whatever gods there were that White Coat had been lying to him about the Doctor.

It had taken the Doctor a long time to calm. He cried out several times, in his own language, but Jack didn't need a translation to hear the agony and the desperation in the cries.

If the nightmare was a result of something White Coat and his pack of cronies had done, there was going to be some very bloody and very violent payback coming.

He looked down when the Doctor took in a deep breath and stirred.

He smiled when the Doctor's eyes opened, and then widened in surprise.

"Hello," he said and brushed a stray lock of blood dirtied hair from the Doctor's forehead.

*******************

The Doctor blinked in surprise, and a myriad question ran through his head.

How did he get here? Why was he lying in Jack's arms? Why did he feel like he'd been hit by a herd of Gastaran Tuskers?

"Jack?" he said, but found he couldn't breathe, his chest felt like it was on fire. Why was that?

Then he remembered....how he'd had Jack against the wall, and then the shot...Gwen.

He took a breath, tried to ignore the pain, but couldn't stop a grimace of pain crossing his face.

He looked up at Jack, who face was set in an unreadable mask, but he could feel the suppressed rage, feel his muscles trembling.

"Jack, don't," he said, and only stopped when a lung-wracking cough prevented him from speaking.

He frowned, a pain deep in one of his hearts caused him to take in a sharp breath, and he felt liquid move in his lungs.

* * *

Jack heard the Doctor whisper something, and leant forward to hear his words.

He drew back when the Doctor's words descended into a fluid-filled cough and a grimace of pain crossed his face.

"It's alright, don't speak," he said.

He held the Doctor as the cough didn't stop, and panic rose as blood appeared at the corner of the Doctor's mouth.....and the Doctor began to choke!

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Gwen had never thought she'd hear such language coming from Martha. It would have made even her old desk sergeant blush.

She'd watched in shocked surprise as the TARDIS faded, taking Jack with it to god knows where.

She came to her senses when she heard something beeping in her pocket...the tracer!

"Thank you and your paranoid mind Jack Harkness," she said and took the tracer out of her pocket.

She looked over at Martha and General Stokes who were in the middle of a row.

"I don't care if you are with UNIT, nor do I care if Torchwood has carte- blanche. When I find Captain Harkness and this Doctor, they're mine, and if you get in my way..."

Gwen strode over to the pair. "Hey, whilst you two argue over whose going have what piece of whom, why don't we go find them and kick some bad guy arse!"

Both of them looked at her, then at the device that was beeping in her hand.

They looked at each other, then at Gwen.

"You'll need back-up, wherever they are, it'll be heavily guarded," General Stokes said.

"I'll need some supplies and extra hands, in case of casualties," Martha said.

Gwen looked at both of them. "That's better, now General Stokes, do you happen to have a map and a helicopter handy?"

General Stokes smiled. "Miss, I can give you a whole army," he said and reached for the phone in his pocket.

****************

What seemed like only hours later Gwen and Martha were looking down on what looked like an ordinary, if remote warehouse. The tracer in her hand was beeping like a lunatic, showing that Jack was alive and inside.

Gwen knew enough not to be fooled by innocuous looking buildings and watched as the special forces brought in by General Stokes edged their way towards the building.

She tensed as they disappeared inside, but relaxed when seconds later they re-appeared and quickly made their way back up the slope.

One of them ran up to the trio and saluted. "Sir, it's just a front. There are shuttles inside, I think it's a hangar. It looks like the main building is underground."

"Can you make entry without them noticing?" General Stokes asked.

"Negative sir, it looks like there's one way in and out, a set of hangar doors. It looks like we'll have to blow it."

"So, no asking if we can come in?" Gwen said as she checked the weapon she'd been given.

"Seems that way," the General said.

"Good, never was one for giving bad guys warnings," Gwen said as she flattened herself against one of the shuttles.

"God, I hate this," Martha said, but her words were lost in a fiery explosion and the metallic screech of metal being torn apart.

****************

White Coat had wanted to watch the encounter between his property and Captain Harkness, but Sarah had advised against it, they weren't going anywhere, after all. So he'd busied himself with his plans for his property, and the merchandise he was going to produce with all that knowledge it possessed.

So he hadn't been expecting the low rumble of what sounded like a distant explosion, nor the alarm that blared into life.

He stepped out of his office and into confusion.

He saw his security running in the direction of the upper levels. He saw his head of security coming towards him.

"What is going on!?" he yelled.

"We're under attack sir, it's the U.S army, we're outnumbered!"

"Again," he snarled. "Hold them off until I can get out, and find Dr. Michaels, tell her to meet me at the emergency hangar. Tell her to bring any viable samples, leave the rest."

"What about Project Alpha sir?"

"Bring a couple of men, we'll collect it now," White Coat ordered.

"What about Captain Harkness?"

"Leave him, I will have to deal with him another time."

*******************

Jack had been pounding on the locked door for what seemed like an eternity, but no-one seemed inclined to answer.

Then he'd felt a deep rumble beneath his feet, and the door he was pounding on vibrated.

He turned back when he heard the Doctor draw in a blood-filled breath, and was back by his side in an instant.

"Doctor, its okay, don't move," he said as the Doctor tried to struggle up.

He frowned as he saw that the Doctor eyes were unfocused, he wasn't seeing his surroundings, he was somewhere else.

"You... have....to....go....someone....has....to....survive....please .....go...!" the Doctor gasped, but broke off with an awful gurgling sound.

The Doctor's eyes widened in what Jack could only believe to be in terror.

"No! Rassilon....please....they're here...no....no!"

Jack grabbed hold of the Doctor, terrified at the blood that was running from the Doctor's mouth.

"Doctor, you have to stop!" he said as the Doctor struggled against his hold. "Somebody get in here!" he bellowed.

"Jack?" the Doctor whispered.

He looked up as the locks on the door were pushed aside, and he was never happier to see an unwanted face.

"It's alright, someone's coming. Please, you have to help him!"

*****************

White Coat stepped into the room and took in the scene in front of him.

His property was cradled in the bloodied arms of Captain Harkness, who was pleading with him to help.

He turned to the two burly men with him.

"Take that and put it in my shuttle, carefully. If it's damaged any further or dead, your lives are forfeit. Move him out of the way," he said to the third man.

****************

Jack could do nothing but comply when the third man dragged him away from the Doctor.

"Jack?" the Doctor said again, reaching out blindly. "Jack!?"

"I'm afraid not," White Coat said, ignoring the Doctor started to struggle uselessly in the grip of the two security men.

"Do stop struggling, you're valuable property," White Coat said.

Jack went to follow the others as they picked the Doctor up, but was stopped by White Coat.

"Not you Captain, you unfortunately are too much trouble," White Coat said.

The third security guard levelled his weapon at him, forcing him to step back into the corner.

"Goodbye Captain, I doubt very much we shall be seeing each other again," White Coat said, and gave him a smile without any warmth to it, just before the door was closed and locked again.

"Jack?!"

Jack launched himself at the door, when he heard the Doctor's desperate cry but the locks were too strong.

"I'll find you Doctor!" he yelled.

"Jack!?"

Jack sank against the door; the Doctor's screams fading into the distance, until they were lost in the approaching gunfire.

"I'll find you," he whispered, tears falling down cheeks smeared with blood that wasn't his own.

* * *

Gwen and Martha moved along the corridor, ignoring the bodies of armed men and lab-coated personnel.

They stopped at a door that was being forced open.

They all jumped back when someone fell out...it was Jack!

"Oh thank god!" Gwen said, pleased to see he was alive.

She stopped when she saw the look on Jack's face.

She knelt down beside Martha, who was wiping blood from his face. She was looking worriedly into his eyes.

Gwen frowned; the look on Jack's face was scaring her.

"Jack?" she said.

"He's gone....he's gone...he's gone," he kept repeating.

They both looked up as General Stokes appeared.

"I'm sorry, it looks like we've just missed them," he said, the frustration obvious in his voice. "One of my men said they saw what looked like this Doctor being carried into a shuttle, but by the time they got to it, it was too late and we can't track it"

Gwen and Martha looked at each other, then at Jack.

"He's gone..."Jack whispered.

**TBC in "The Reichenstien Paradyme"**


End file.
